Returning Birds
by totaldefeat
Summary: During the last moments of the battle with Madara, Sasuke gets caught up in the man's space-time jutsu and winds up in the past. He finds Naruto passed out near him when he wakes and notices they look like seven year olds. Time-travel and canon divergence. No pairing.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N** : Originally, I was supposed to write a chapter or two ahead of what I post to give myself time to proofread, but I got excited. As a precaution, please note that this will focus more on how characters feel than action. This doesn't contain any sage of six paths and all that because I haven't finished watching Naruto Shippuuden for one and I don't read the manga.

* * *

Madara stepped forward with shaky legs, swaying closer and closer towards the young ninjas. Though the man seemed to be standing on his last legs—the accumulation of both fatal and shallow wounds during the long battle wearing him—Naruto and Sasuke stayed alert, watching Madara with caution. Naruto shifted, ready to attack the man if he tried anything weird. He jerked when Sasuke moved in front of him.

"I'll do it," he said. He channelled his chakra into Kusanagi, clenching his teeth at the amount of effort he had to put in. The fight wore him down more than he'd like.

"Don't push yourself," Naruto said and Sasuke glanced over at him. He snorted, squeezing out as much chakra as he could. His sword glowed in blue, electric arcs jumping from one end of the blade to the other. Just one more attack and they would have defeated Madara.

Sasuke breathed heavily, shoulders rising and falling along with each breath as he walked to meet Madara in the middle.

"I'll watch your back." Naruto smiled at him, looking just as tired as he sounded but still on guard. Sasuke's lips lifted slightly.

"Yeah," he replied. They kicked off the ground, Naruto right behind Sasuke. Sasuke gripped his sword and charged at Madara. The blade pierced through the man's flesh and blood oozed from the wound, spilling down his chest. Madara raised his head from his hunched form, coughing and choking. Sasuke noticed the man slowly bring his hand up and he leapt back, but it was too late. Madara grabbed his wrist. Sasuke frowned and pulled at his sword. The sword wouldn't budge.

"Tch." For a dead man, he sure had a strong grip.

"Sasuke!"

The desperate tone of Naruto's call agitated him. As he was about to stop his tugging on Kusanagi and punch Madara with his free hand, the man leaned closer.

"If you could, would you change the Uchiha's fate?" Madara whispered. Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"What are you trying to say?" Madara chuckled and tightened his hold on Sasuke's wrist.

"I'm saying…" His mouth was moving. Sasuke stood still, listening to him despite everything. When Madara finished, Sasuke was petrified on the spot. "You'll…help me won't you?" The man sneered. Black scripts started leaking from Madara's hand to Sasuke's wrist, the scribbles curling and climbing up Sasuke's arm.

"What are you doing to Sasuke?" Naruto yelled, running towards the two Uchihas, a kunai in hand. Sasuke jolted from his daze at the familiar voice.

"You bastard," Sasuke growled. He pulled his fist back, about to punch the man.

"After all, we're both from the Uchiha clan…"

Light began to shimmer between him and Madara. He stopped his fist midway and turned his head.

"Stay away, Naruto!" he shouted. He watched as Naruto's figure clouded over in white. Sasuke could only stare as his vision filled with blinding light. Though the faint calling reached his ears, he had no way of interpreting them. Must be Kakashi stopping Sakura from chasing us, he thought and from there, everything froze.

* * *

The sound of the wind stirred Sasuke out of unconsciousness. His eyes opened reluctantly and he found himself staring at a gray sky. He exhaled, a smoky puff drifting out of his mouth and disappearing into the air. Sasuke forced himself to sit up. He looked around, finding himself on a pile of leaves and Naruto sleeping a couple feet away from him. He stood, walking over to Naruto.

As Sasuke got closer, he frowned. What was going on? Naruto looked exactly like he did when he was seven years old.

"Naru…" he uttered and his hand flew to his mouth.

He lifted a hand to see they were small like a child's. Sasuke pat his face, clothes and body. He most likely had his seven year old appearance as well. He growled in irritation. Sasuke took off to survey the area, seething. Countless questions plagued his mind, understanding nothing was never a good thing. Why did they look like seven year olds? Where were they? Sasuke kept wandering until he came to across a clearing and looked up. His eyes widened at the view.

It was Konoha. Though the arrangement of the buildings were different, it was definitely the village he lived in for most of his life. He ran his hand up and down the tree bark beside him. This was real—he was confident he could tell if it were a genjutsu.

Was Madara serious? Sasuke blinked as he noticed something else that further confirmed his suspicions. In the far distance, he saw the Hokage Monument. There was only one face carved in on the mountain, a face he knew and talked to in person.

Senju Hashirama.

Sasuke's jaw hung loose, a breeze tickling his skin.

 _Did Madara's space-time jutsu succeed?_

No, there was no way. It wasn't possible. Sasuke clawed at the tree bark, leaving marks on the wood and returned to where Naruto was. He dropped onto the floor with a plop. He thought through his options. The fact that there was a space-time jutsu capable of sending the both of them back in time was sketchy. It was difficult to grasp the concept of time travel, more so when they were sent back more than half a century. Sasuke bit his thumb. His stream of thoughts kept winding in his head.

Once he was sick of simply sitting and doing nothing, he got up to carry Naruto on his back. It was best for them to stick together for the time being. There was no telling what Madara did to them yet and the effects of the strange jutsu. If they were really in the past, the moron would screw things up if he was alone. Sasuke sighed, adjusting Naruto's position so he wouldn't slip off.

They reached the bottom of the hill and Sasuke finally spot Konoha's entrance gates. He paused in his steps, hearing footsteps and ducked under the bushes. Above him were Konoha ninjas judging from the familiar forest green vests.

Deeming the area clear of any ninjas, Sasuke let go of Naruto. Naruto fell limp onto the ground and Sasuke crawled out of the bush, dragging the other by the ankle. He closed his eyes, waiting for someone to find them. Unless the ninjas Sasuke saw weren't from Konoha, his plan would work considering the First Hokage's attitude. If it came to it, Sasuke would take the ninjas down and find another way into the village. Or would killing them benefit more?

In order to figure out the details of what was going on, they had to get into the village walls and in order to get in Konoha and stay long enough to collect information, they had to officially become citizens.

* * *

"Hey," someone said. "There's two beaten up kids here." The other man looked around for enemies and bent down, checking Naruto and Sasuke's pulse. He sighed in relief.

"They're alive," he said. His face then changed into one of worry. "Should we bring them back to the village?"

"But, we don't know if they're spies…" It wasn't uncommon in the warring era that clans from neighbouring countries would send children to infiltrate Konoha. "And that sword laying over there is their's isn't it?"

The hesitant tone was obvious.

 _Come on…_

Murmuring voices muddled together, more and more of the patrols' colleagues regrouped in the area. Chatter of where'd the children had come from, who they were, and if they were spies continued to circulate amongst the group.

"Mito-sama," someone greeted, bowing. A red haired woman walked onto the scene.

"What is going on here?" she asked and the chatter hushed.

"I thought you were with the Hokage?"

Mito glanced at the man for changing the subject. "I am out running errands for him." She waved him off. "Who are these children?"

"We don't know who they are. They appear to be lost, injured children ," a man reported. Mito's eyed the two children's clothes.

"What are you waiting for? Get these children to the hospital," she ordered.

"B-but Mito-sama, we don't know if they're spies."

Mito pointed to the clan symbols on Naruto and Sasuke's shirts. "Look closely, one of them is an Uchiha child and the other is of my clan, an Uzumaki."

* * *

Naruto was half-asleep when he saw dried leaves on the ground. He heard the sound of crunching footsteps, but they weren't his because his legs were dangling in the air. His right cheek rested on something and he wondered if someone was carrying him. It was warm and comforting. He tried to bury his face deeper into the warmth. Naruto's conscious fogged and a blur of red replaced the fallen leaves. He reached out to touch it.

"Pretty…" he mumbled. Someone giggled, making him snap his eyes open. In front of him was a woman with her hair tied in two buns sitting on a chair. Naruto sat up. "Who are you?" he asked, immediately freezing up. He touched his neck, blinking.

"My name is Mito," the woman said, getting his attention. Naruto looked at her.

"Your hair is pretty," he complimented and grinned. Mito smiled.

"You're the only one other than my husband to think so. Thank you."

"It's like my mom's…" An image of his mother flashed in his mind and he smiled. He untangled his fingers from the woman's hair.

"What's your name?" Mito asked.

"I'm Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto," he said.

Mito maintained a stoic expression, a hint of softness peaking through. "Naruto, why were you ou—"

A curtain swished, interrupting Mito. "Naruto," the third occupant in the room said. Naruto turned, straightening up on his bed at the voice.

"Sasu…ke?" Panic bubbled in Naruto's stomach, quickly rising and registering in his brain. He leaned forward, kicking the white sheets that covered him. Sasuke was here.

 _Sasuke's safe._

Naruto stumbled onto the floor, landing on his stomach. He scrambled to his feet and over to Sasuke's bed. His legs tangled and he tripped, grabbing at the edge of the mattress.

"Sasu—" Naruto lifted his gaze from the bed. He pointed a shaking finger at the other, opening his mouth to question what on earth he was doing looking like a kid. Sasuke narrowed his eyes and Naruto closed his mouth.

"Are you two okay?" Mito asked. The woman hadn't moved from her seat and didn't seem too surprised with Naruto's reaction. Sasuke nodded and looked down at Naruto.

"You okay?" he said. "I know you're confused right now, but I'll explain what happened later, alright?" Sasuke hoped Naruto would know not to throw a fit here. Given Naruto's silence followed by a nod, he understood.

Though Naruto's face couldn't hide his confusion and worry, he climbed onto Sasuke's bed.

"It'll be fine…" Sasuke whispered. Naruto did a double take at the gentle tone. Was this really Sasuke or was this guy a fake? His previous words were also strangely phrased. Naruto was expecting a shut up I'll tell you later with a glare or nothing at all.

Their attention was brought back to Mito when she cleared her throat. She stood from her chair and asked, "Can I trust you two to stay put while I find my husband?" She exited the room after receiving a nod from each of them.

Silence sunk between them, the bristling leaves outside being the only sounds they heard. Naruto had enough of staring at the door and shifted on the bed to look at Sasuke.

"Sasuke, where are we? And why do you look like a kid?" Naruto knit his brows, propping a hand to his chin. Sasuke breathed out. His gaze hardened at Naruto.

"Shut up and listen for now. Don't make a fuss," Sasuke said. Naruto chuckled and it earned him an even harder glare if that was possible. There wasn't mistaking it, this was Sasuke.

"Okay, okay. I'll be serious. So, what's going on here? Did the war end while I was unconscious?" Naruto grinned. Sasuke was still here in the village after the war and that was great. He could become a shinobi of Konoha again. His grin faltered when Sasuke's expression turned cold.

"The war's not over," Sasuke said. Naruto's eyes widened, a heavy heartbeat thud in his chest.

"Huh? What…do you mean it's not over?" He trembled, a nervous smile creeping on his face. "W-what are you saying Sasuke? We're back at the village aren't we? And…you're here too," he said. Naruto gazed into Sasuke's dark eyes. What else could've happened if the war didn't end? He remembered chasing after Sasuke when a bright light shone…

"We didn't get trapped in Madara's Infinite Tsukuyomi did we?" Worry swirled in sea blue eyes.

"No, we're not. It doesn't feel like one," Sasuke said, looking out the window. At that, the other's shoulders dropped with an exhale. Naruto glanced up at Sasuke, knowing the man had something more to say.

When Sasuke continued to silently stare outside, Naruto shot out the question. "Then where are we?" he asked.

"Listen, Naruto," Sasuke started, turning back to Naruto. "That light you saw when Madara had his grip on me was a space-time jutsu he used." He paused, giving Naruto a chance to talk.

As expected, Naruto gave him a confused look. "You mean like Kakashi-sensei's Kamui?" He crossed his arms and sat criss-cross applesauce. Sasuke blinked and Naruto explained, forgetting Sasuke never saw Kakashi's Kamui upfront. "Kakashi-sensei can pull people and objects into a different space dimension…I think that's what he said?" he finished off unsure.

"Yeah, it's similar to that," Sasuke nodded, "But it's different. I said it was space-time jutsu."

"And…that means?" Naruto looked at him, urging him to clarify exactly what he meant. Sasuke sighed and shrugged.

"We're in the past," he said. Naruto went stiff and stared at Sasuke. The room became silent again. Naruto held out his hand in front, the other hand pinching his nose. He squeezed his eyes shut.

"Stop, wait." He sighed, opening his eyes slowly. Naruto cleared his throat and asked, "What exactly do you mean by that?"

Sasuke frowned. That was as clear and simple as he could make it. Though Sasuke understood it wasn't easy to accept that they were sent to the past, Naruto's hesitance frustrated him—the information was difficult to digest for him as well.

"Naruto," he growled. Naruto straightened his back and the atmosphere turned serious at Sasuke's face.

"Yeah, what is it?" Naruto stared straight into Sasuke's eyes and Sasuke did the same.

"Madara sent us back in time and we're further back than I expected," Sasuke said.

Naruto filed a question in his mind to ask later and listened on.

"Judging by the look of the village, I'm confident to say we're in Konoha's founding era."

"Konoha's founding era," Naruto repeated to himself. "Then we're in the time when the First Hokage is the village's leader?"

"Yeah, he's alive," Sasuke confirmed.

The thought that they were back in the past finally sunk in. Dread pooled in Naruto's stomach and the air in his chest felt stale, putting pressure against his sternum. His eyes darted around, searching Sasuke's entire face.

"…We have to get back," Naruto murmured. "Sasuke, we have to get back…" He stopped, stunned by Sasuke's surprised look. He was about to say something when he noticed his vision blur. Naruto rubbed his arm across his eyes, wiping the moisture out of them.

"I'm fine…" He fixated his gaze again on Sasuke who had his usual indifferent expression on. "How are we going to get back Sasuke? We left Sakura-chan and Kakashi-sensei and the whole shinobi alliance with Madara!" Naruto shouted without realizing it.

"I don't know and this sort of jutsu isn't a field I know much about," Sasuke replied. Naruto clenched his jaw tightly. "They're fine. I told you not to make a fuss ou—"

"Fine? How are they fine when Madara is still standing?!" Naruto spat. "If he had enough strength in him to use this space-time jutsu, then maybe we weren't so close to defeating him as we thought." He held his arms by his side in his fighting stance, fists balled up in anger and unease. Naruto had left his comrades to fight alone.

While Naruto was yelling, he had stood up on Sasuke's bed and Sasuke glared up at the man.

"Even if Madara had the chakra left to fight, Sakura and Kakashi would be fine is what I'm saying," Sasuke said sternly. The other threw his hands down, the mattress squeaking from his movement.

"I need to be there. _We_ need to be there with them. It was our fault for getting caught in Madara's jutsu but we left them alone," Naruto said. "I can't do that to them."

"Cut it out, Naruto!"

Naruto jumped at Sasuke's harsh tone and volume. He caught a glimpse of black and before he knew it, Sasuke had slammed his head to the bed.

"They aren't as weak as you think, Naruto," Sasuke said lowly and Naruto let out a pained groan, choking on his saliva. He clawed his way to grab on Sasuke's wrist, pulling. He bit his lip and looked to the side, releasing his grip to instead shield his face.

"I don't need you telling me that. I know…" he whispered.

The two went rigid and their heads whipped towards the door as they sensed an incoming presence.

"Two…"

"No, three."

Sasuke removed his hand from Naruto's forehead and together they watched the shadow behind the door slide it open revealing…

They both froze, mouths parted in shock. The man they had fought just recently, the strained aura, the stench, the stress of the battle still freshly embedded in them and they could only stare.

Madara


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N** : Sorry, I'll proofread this again tomorrow morning. I just caught a cold and it's driving me crazy with the stuffy nose.

Guest: Oh believe me I considered both of those options, but then I felt this didn't need to pair anyone up. You can still see this as slash and it'll probably work because it seems the story gives off slash vibes when I don't intend to.

* * *

The hospital corridors were quiet, sounds of shoes scuffing across the floors made by the nurses who were on duty. It was a slower day where there was no one being sent to the ER or anyone who was heavily injured. There weren't any children prancing around in the hallways while their parents visited their moms and dads. Today was quiet.

It was a tick of a clock striking the next minute that brought Mito out of her thoughts. She picked up her pace down the room doors, past the lobby and reception desk to the entrance of the hospital. She looked around for a bit, checking if her husband had arrived yet.

The children the patrol unit had found unsettled Mito. She didn't understand what two injured children were doing on the outskirts of Konoha. One was an Uchiha judging by the boy's dark hair, matching eyes and the crest on his shirt. What pulled at her was the boy named Naruto.

"—to?"

Mito was supposed to be the only Uzumaki in Konoha so what was an Uzumaki boy like him doing near the village?

"Hello?"

She frowned. Should she trust his word? Blonde hair and blue eyes were most definitely not a trait of the Uzumaki clan.

"Mito?"

Mito started at the sudden voice and nearly jumped back when her husband's face was in front of her's.

"Hashirama," she said and smiled. Her gaze shifted to the men behind Hashirama and she glanced at him.

"They wanted to come," he said, grinning. The two men behind Hashirama frowned.

"Don't lie. You're the one who dragged us here," Madara hissed. Beside him Tobirama sighed and glanced to the side.

"Brother, shouldn't you be working instead of visiting the hospital?" he suggested. He received a hearty laugh in response and it made him want to leave his brother for paperwork right now.

"You didn't tell them?" Mito asked, raising her eyebrows.

"No," he said.

The woman sighed, used to her husband's antics. "Follow me," she said, ignoring Tobirama's and Madara's protests and complaints. Hashirama walked closely next to her.

"Who are the children?" Hashirama whispered, making their little chat private from the grumbling pair further down the corridor. Mito glanced at her husband before watching the room numbers they passed by carefully.

"I don't know. When the patrol unit found them, they were lying on the ground and quite injured." She pressed her lips together, unsure how to say it.

"But?" Hashirama raised the question. If the children were some outsiders or from the village, his wife wouldn't have asked him to come. They had to be special.

"Based on the shirts they were wearing, one of them is an Uchiha and the other an Uzumaki…" Mito said, her voice clearly hinting concern by the end of the sentence. Hashirama's face lit up, a smile creeping onto his lips.

"That's…quite interesting. An Uchiha child wouldn't surprise me but an Uzumaki child? What's going on?"

"That's why I brought you here. It's…unsettling," Mito said, running a hand over her other wrist. "The thing is, he doesn't have the traits of my clan. He has blonde hair, not red. He could be lying, stealing the shirt from another Uzumaki to pose as a member of the clan."

A hand on her shoulder pushed her, making her face her husband. They came to a stop and Hashirama looked at her gently.

"Don't worry too much, Mito. I trust your judgement. If you felt you had to bring them into the village, then they are probably good children," he said, firming planting his hands on Mito's shoulders as reassurance.

Mito stared at Hashirama for a while and nodded.

"Are we there yet?" Madara asked, glancing left to right, wondering which room they had business in. His face hit a something as he turned and realized it was Hashirama. "Hey, don't stop all of a sudden," he snapped.

"Puh." Hashirama covered his mouth with a hand. The man's face was already pissing Madara off. "You're so clumsy Madara," Hashirama teased.

"Shut up and keep going."

Tobirama stepped beside him and they exchanged looks.

"What?" he said, not hiding his dislike for the man. Tobirama's gaze left him and he followed after his brother.

"Uchihas," he snorted.

"You…" It was a mumble, but it grabbed Tobirama's attention as he halted in his tracks, Mito and Hashirama moving ahead of them.

"Did you say something?" Tobirama sneered. He wasn't usually like this. He was always calm and observed things silently, calculating thoughts racing in his mind; however, when it came to this particular man, nothing could restrain his emotions.

The other man glared at him and he stared down at Madara, enjoying their difference in height.

"I know very well that you don't like me and you know very well I feel the same."

What was the Uchiha trying to get at?

"But quit putting me and my clan down for the sake of your petty superiority complex," Madara snarled, flaring his sharingan at Tobirama. He brushed past the younger with a huff.

"Superiority complex you say?" Tobirama mumbled, seething. He whipped his head, stretching out an arm and grasped the other's high collar, yanking Madara back. When he saw Madara's face come into view, he quickly looked down to the floor to avoid the man's sharingan. He stumbled backwards as Madara landed a kick to his stomach. Tobirama clutched his stomach, cursing that he had gotten distracted by a trivial detail.

"You," Madara started, shoving Tobirama into the wall with his forearm pushing against the man's throat.

Tobirama growled and swung his arm. Madara caught his fist with ease.

"Cannot defeat me," Madara finished. His eyes returned to their original colour and he made his way to Hashirama and Mito. He didn't bother to care that the other man scoffed, but the next words Tobirama said set him off.

"As I thought, you're scared. Brother would hate you if you hurt me. That's why you can't hit me, isn't that right?" Tobirama taunted. He stared hard at Madara's back, waiting for a reaction. There was no way the man wouldn't do anything. Madara was an Uchiha.

 _So come at me, like the Uchiha you are._

"You can't stand to be hated by Brother," he stated. "Do you know why? Should I tell you why?" Tobirama sauntered towards Madara whose pace had slowed. He stopped about a meter from Madara.

"—ut up…"

A hoarse whisper reached his ears. Tobirama continued regardless. "Let me tell you why. It's because Brother's all you got. No one left in this village ca—"

"I said shut up!" Madara shouted and before Tobirama could react, Madara lifted him up by his shirt, his arm drawn back. Tobirama didn't back down, glaring straight at the man. A hand clasped around Madara's wrist halfway through the punch.

Who it was was obvious. Madara didn't need to turn around to see it was Hashirama. He let Tobirama go and huffed.

"You guys need to stop getting into fights and start getting along," Hashirama said. He squeezed the wrist in his hand and looked at Madara.

Madara flung Hashirama's arm away, freeing his hand from the man's grip and strode to catch up to Mito.

"Mada—"

He didn't need to hear what Hashirama had to say. He didn't need to see Hashirama's disappointed expression.

Hashirama sighed, glancing at his younger brother. "Be nice, Tobirama and…it isn't true. People in the village care for Madara," he said.

"If by care you mean being shunned by his own clan and feared by the rest of the population, then yes, the villagers care for him _very_ much."

"Tobirama," Hashirama warned.

"I don't think I'm saying anything wrong," Tobirama said and shrugged, pushing past his brother.

* * *

"Which room is it? Let's hurry and get this ridiculous visit over with."

"It'll be the next room on your left," Mito answered, right behind Madara. She quickened her pace, keeping up with the man. She wouldn't want his first impression on the children being a scary man out to get them. It didn't help he was already in a foul mood.

"What's wrong?" she asked when Madara faltered in his steps in front of the door.

"Nothing…" Madara replied and slowly slid the door open. He was met with the faces of two children staring at him, tensed. Hashirama pushed them all into the room and closed the door softly.

"The blonde one is Uzumaki Naruto and the black haired one is…Sorry I didn't get your name," Mito introduced the children starting from their names. She hesitated at the pale face of Naruto and serious face of the nameless boy.

A hum of acknowledgement from Madara snapped something inside of Naruto. His chest tightened and welled with dread. He grit his teeth and leapt towards the man.

"You…bastard. What are you doing here?!" Naruto roared. Sasuke was instantly on guard, in a defensive stance. He became severely aware of their situation, four pairs of eyes on them. He swiftly grabbed Naruto's arm, tugging him back to the bed.

"Stop, Naruto."

But Naruto struggled against Sasuke, elbowing the other in the face.

"You…Bring us back! What did you do to u—" Naruto's sentence was cut off, muffled by Sasuke's hand clamped over his mouth.

 _He almost blew our cover._

"Naruto," Sasuke called Naruto's name again yet to no avail in getting the other to calm down. He switched his hold on Naruto to better subdue him, Naruto's cussing falling on deaf ears. Sasuke held Naruto in a headlock with one arm and held both of Naruto's wrist together behind his back. Sasuke sighed.

"Sorry, he's still shaken up…" he said, feigning innocence.

The members of the room had looked on the scene, curiosity written over their expressions. None of them made a move to intervene, simply watching how things would unfold.

"Shaken up? Sasuke what the hell are you talking about?" Naruto shouted and pulled on Sasuke's arms to loosen the man's grip. "Let go…Sasuke. We have to beat him, if we don't…Sakura-chan, Lee, Gaara, Kakashi-sensei, everyone will be in danger!"

"Stop and calm down," Sasuke said sternly. Naruto craned his neck to look at Sasuke in complete confusion.

"Why are you telling me to stop? Why would I need to calm down when he's right freaking there?" Naruto spat, exasperated by Sasuke's attitude. Madara was right there. He was so close and Sasuke was telling him to calm down? To stop? He continued to thrash against Sasuke's hold and paused, a thought dawning upon him.

"You're…on our side right?" Naruto asked wearily. His gaze locked onto Sasuke's. He didn't want to believe otherwise, but all his friends were confident that Sasuke wouldn't have bothered to show up and fight against Madara who was trying to take over the world. They were confident he had no interest in the war.

Something flashed across Sasuke's face—Naruto couldn't make it out—and it was immediately washed away by a neutral expression.

"Yeah…I am," he answered, glancing at the four people standing by the doorway. He wondered how much information they could spill before a cover story wouldn't be enough to mask their shady background.

"Then…" Naruto murmured. Sasuke returned his attention to Naruto. He could feel the other shake in his hold. He felt his arm twitch, preparing himself if Naruto decided to try and attack him, throw his rage at him.

"Let me go so I can get him. He'll pay. Right here, right now. He's the one responsible for everything…" Naruto began struggling once more and growled out in frustration at the other's persistence.

"Can you forgive him, Sasuke? Can you forgive him for pushing Itachi, whether it was indirectly or not, for being branded a traitor? He was the one that made all of you doubt—"

It was a low blow, he knew it. Naruto just wanted to get it into Sasuke's thick skull that Madara had to be taken down now, that he was dangerous. The man they had come so close to beating, had sent them back in time because he couldn't defeat Naruto and Sasuke was standing right in front of them. Sasuke wanted him to stop? Stop what?

"You just don't know when to shut up do you?" Sasuke bit through clenched teeth. He let go of Naruto, the boy slumping forward from the sudden release of tension. Sasuke jammed a hand to wrap around Naruto's throat, driving him down into the mattress.

Hurt eyes stared back at him as he squeezed lightly. Naruto didn't show signs of panic, lying still and it unnerved Sasuke.

 _You trust me._

 _I trust you._

Their eyes didn't leave each other and they didn't notice when they were pulled apart.

"Hey, hey, children, don't fight," Hashirama said softly, helping Naruto sit up from the bed while Tobirama dragged Sasuke further away from Naruto under the arms.

"…But..you…" Naruto was at a loss. "Don't you care for the others?" he asked hesitantly, a strained smile on his lips to hide his distress. He swallowed, the silence lingering in the room unbearable. "Don't you understand if we don't do this now…"

"You're the one who doesn't understand, Naruto," Sasuke cut in sharply. "Doing something here won't change anything. What is it that you should be doing? Think hard about that."

* * *

After the adults had successfully calmed the two children down, they either learned against the wall by the door or sat in a chair across from the children. To their surprise, the children didn't throw a fit, scream or jump at each other like they had earlier. Even though they were sat onto their respective beds, if they really wanted to, the beds were close enough that they could tackle the other down.

The questioning then began, Hashirama starting off asking for the black haired boy's name.

"Uchiha Sasuke," the boy said and all heads turned, except Naruto, to Madara. They were expecting the man to go ahead and inform the boy's parents or offer to take Sasuke home.

Instead, they realized their expectations were no where near what reality was with Madara's narrowed gaze.

"Who are you?"

The man near Madara motioned a hand. "He's Sasuke. He just said didn't he?" Hashirama stated the obvious. His wife seated on the chair beside him let out a small sigh.

Tobirama grunted, folding his arms over his chest. "When you can't even recognize your own clansmen then it's no wonder…"

"Tobirama."

His mouth shut with one word from his brother.

"I know my people when I see them and I'm saying I've never seen this kid," Madara said, slightly irked by the younger Senju's lack of trust in his capabilities as the Uchiha clan leader.

Despite his clansmen whispering behind his back, scorning him and cursing him for being mad, Madara was protective of the Uchihas. He memorized every single of them and knew their names. This Sasuke boy wasn't one of them.

It was unsettling because Sasuke had the physical traits of an Uchiha: black hair, dark eyes, and a lighter skin tone compared to the Senjus. The only thing that would solidify his claimed identity would be the sharingan.

"Maybe he was left behind and couldn't find his way back," Hashirama suggested.

"No." Madara shook his head. "I'm sure all the Uchihas moved settled in the village. There shouldn't have been anyone left behind. Besides, it's been years since this village was created."

Yet there's one missing child here, Tobirama thought, holding his tongue.

"Where are your parents?" Mito asked.

Together, Sasuke and Naruto looked at her and said, "They're…"

"Not here anymore." It was Naruto.

"Dead," Sasuke finished.

Hashirama and Mito exchange glances. Mito knew her husband was up to something by the gleam in his eyes. He asked a silent question and Mito nodded, giving him permission to act as he pleased. She trusted he wouldn't do anything rash.

"Naruto, we'd like you to come and live with us," Hashirama said, crouching down in front of the boy. He took Naruto's little hands in his. "What do you think?"

Taken aback by the sudden offer, Naruto could only gape. "Uh, n-no. I'm not…I don't think," he sputtered. He looked to Sasuke, asking for help. Sasuke looked back but didn't say anything. Naruto was met with Hashirama's cheery smile.

"How about it? Rather than return to Uzushiogakure, why don't you live with me and my wife here in Konoha?"

Why was the Hokage keen on adopting Naruto? Sasuke came to the conclusion that it was to keep an eye on potential intruders and spies but knowing Naruto, he would think it was an act of kindness. A generous gift to a poor war-orphan.

"…What about Sasuke?" Naruto's gaze slid back to Sasuke's, frowning. Hashirama threw his head back, laughing. It baffled everyone in the room, save for Mito.

"I was thinking since he's an Uchiha that Madara should take Sasuke in," he said.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N** : Wow, this took me longer than it probably should have and for some reason, harder to write. There was a lot more I wanted to say and at the same time a lot less I wanted to write in this chapter. Sometimes I'm not even sure what's written and what's floating in my head. It's all jumbled up. Will be proofreading this tomorrow again after classes. I'll be lounging on the sofa tonight, need some break before I think of what I want to write for the next chapter.

Guest 1: Aw yeah, that'll be fun. Uchiha style bonding? I'm not sure what that'd be like haha. I don't know how to feel about it either. I mean I originally planned for Naruto to live with Madara too, but Naruto's personality rejected that idea. I'm sure he won't, though he'll see the resemblances.

Guest 2: Thank you and for being patient too. I'm sorry that there won't be a pairing :( But yes, feel free to see things as how you want. I don't think Madara will ever do that or for now that's what I think.

Guest 3: Haha you pretty much summed it up. Yeah I know, shaking my head at Mito. There's a reason for it so maybe I'll get to later on.

* * *

The hospital room went quiet. There were no sounds of breathing, no sounds of movement from anyone. An unbearable silence froze the entire room like a tableaux. The constant buzzing of silence wasn't loud enough to be called silence and it was intimidating.

Someone let out a breath, putting everything into motion again. Another, inhaled sharply.

"No!" Naruto exploded, grabbing Hashirama's collar and yanking it towards him. "You can't let Sasuke live with Madara."

Hashirama blinked, staring right at Naruto. "And why is that?" he asked. Before Naruto could yell his answer, Tobirama interrupted.

"Brother, what in the…Do you understand what you're saying? Do you hear yourself? Are you insane?" Tobirama questioned his brother's current mental state. Who in the right head would push Madara of all people to raise a child? Certainly not Hashirama.

But his brother cocked his head to the side, raising an eyebrow. "I'm perfectly sane, Tobirama. I know what I said."

"He's right, you're insane and he's not. Listen to him," Naruto answered in Tobirama's stead. He tried to shake the Hokage back and forth as to let him know he was crazy, but Hashirama wouldn't budge.

"And him," Tobirama started, pointing at Naruto. "Don't adopt some child you know nothing about or you'll end up hurt. He could be a spy."

Naruto scoffed, "Me? A spy?"

Ignoring him, Tobirama continued, "What are you going to do if he turns out to be a spy for another village? What will you do then?"

"I'll deal with it when it comes to that. Don't worry yourself over nothing," Hashirama said, grinning. "You worry too much."

"Hashirama, I don't think…" Mito trailed off. She hadn't known what and where to speak up in the midst of the shouting but Hashirama's careless words were bound to fuel more arguments. Hashirama's honesty had always irritated the nuts out of Tobirama and the thought that he might be doing it on purpose crossed her mind. Her gaze travelled to Sasuke and the boy stared back at her with a blank face. She faintly saw it.

 _He's smiling._

"You know Brother, you're always like this. You could take precautions before you decide something like adopting possible spy kids you know," Tobirama chided.

"You know, you're pissing me off now too," Naruto said and jerked his head, facing Tobirama. "Spy, spy. I'm not a spy!" He received a glare from the man.

"I'm not saying you are one. I'm saying Brother should think twice about adopting you before going through with it."

"Hashirama," came a rough whisper.

All the shouting ceased and Hashirama turned to Madara. Even Naruto shut up.

"What is it?" he asked.

His friend appeared to have troubles getting his voice out, Madara's mouth hanging open and upper body leaning forward.

To the left of the man, Tobirama looked to Madara as well, curious as to what he had to say about all this. He realized Madara had been quiet the whole time.

"I…No," Madara said and tore his eyes away from Hashirama's intent gaze.

"Madara, it won't be that bad." Hashirama got up to stand in front of Madara. "I'm sure it'll be fun to raise Sasuke. Come on. He doesn't have a family to return to."

"I'm aware of that," Madara mumbled. "I can get someone from the clan to take care of him."

"No. That's no good," Hashirama said.

"Then put him in the orphanage."

Leaning his back against the wall, Tobirama decided he'd enlighten the man. "The orphanages here are full. There's not enough room for more parentless children."

"Then you do it!" Madara shouted, finally looking at Hashirama again. It was a mistake. He was always weak for his friend's determined face.

"It has to be you. You have to take in the boy," Hashirama said firmly. He stumbled backwards, Madara's hand in the air between them.

"No. I said no," Madara bellowed and slammed the sliding door open, pacing out onto the hospital corridors.

Hashirama pushed his hair back with a hand and sighed. Of course Madara wouldn't agree to it immediately. He glanced at Sasuke who was sitting on his bed obediently. Having Madara adopt Sasuke meant the two would become a family. Perhaps it was still too early for Madara to get close to other people, but his friend had always been too stubborn for his own good. He'd make the call this time.

"Tobirama, could you?"

"No, I am not going to—" Tobirama looked at his brother. He cursed whatever it was that made it impossible to deny his brother of anything. When he wanted something, he got it. Tobirama clicked his tongue.

"Fine," he said and reluctantly went after Madara.

"Be nice," Hashirama called down the hallway. He shook his head, sliding his right arm into his left sleeve and his left in his right. When he ducked his head back into the room, he noticed his wife's concerned expression.

"It'll be fine," he assured.

Mito didn't ease up at Hashirama's words. "We should take both Naruto and Sasuke in ourselves," she proposed. She was somewhat excited to have Naruto's company while Hashirama worked hard in his office though it didn't mean she wouldn't be glad to have the Sasuke as well. It was clear Madara had no intention of raising a child, whether or not the boy was one of his clan members.

"I agree with Mito!" Naruto piped in and Hashirama chuckled.

"Sorry, Naruto," Hashirama apologized, ruffling Naruto's blonde locks. "I'm doing this for Madara's own good."

The hand in his hair felt nice, like Naruto was being treated as a child. This wasn't the time for this. He glanced over to Mito to see her expression change into one of melancholy. Naruto realized there was something happening—something he didn't understand—between these historically famous people Iruka-sensei talked about in class. There was a distance, he thought, between these people and him and Sasuke.

With a deep sigh, the hand left Naruto's head. "You see, a lot of things happened in the past and I want to do something about it," Hashirama explained.

A smile crept onto the man's face and Naruto kept silent.

"Madara's been alone for a long time…" he continued and his eyes flickered to Sasuke. "I was thinking that if he had Sasuke with him, he wouldn't feel lonely anymore."

 _He's lonely?_

Naruto's dropped his head to gaze at the floor. He didn't want Sasuke near that mad son of an Uchiha yet no petty counters came to mind. Was it in his place to argue?

"It's not the first time I've thought about this."

And it went through one ear, out the other. It was similar to background static.

"You mean if Madara had someone with him, he'd become stable," Mito stated. She had also thought of this as a solution for Madara's deteriorating mental health. Be it a lover, a child to take care of, or a friend by his side, any relationship would benefit Madara.

"Yes, that's what I had in mind. But using the word stable makes it sound like you're saying…he's not," Hashirama said.

That was more than likely what was implied. No one called Hashirama out on that. The last echo of his voice died down and it soon became quiet.

"How long were we out?" Sasuke asked. He had been awake when they were brought to the hospital at the order of Mito, however, once his head hit the soft cover, he blacked out. The less time the doctors had to check their bodies, the better.

Naruto turned to him, surprised he finally spoke. Sasuke hadn't bothered to argue against the Hokage's decision to have him adopted by Madara and it made Naruto's toes curl, clutching the bed sheets.

"One full day," Mito answered. "It was a bit surprising to see you both awake that quickly."

"Why?" Naruto questioned.

"You two were found injured by the patrol unit. Your clothes were battered with dirt. The blood on you two were fresh and the wounds cut deep." She paused.

"I heal fast," Naruto said, scratching his cheek.

Hashirama hummed. "That's….amazing," he commented.

The subject was dropped before it could turn into a full on interrogation. Mito and Hashirama could have asked, pressed on for more details like it wasn't possible to heal from stab wounds in a day, or no one should be able to stand more less wrestle with those injuries, yet they didn't. Not now and if possible, they would find out more about these children in a subtle manner.

"Where are you going, Sasuke?" Naruto followed Sasuke's movements to the door.

"Bathroom," Sasuke replied and Mito stood from her seat.

"I can show you the way," she offered.

Without looking her way, Sasuke politely declined and slid the door closed behind him.

* * *

Feet padded against the floor, emitting soft sounds that bounced off the walls as Sasuke stalked down the hallway. He looked around for people before crouching. He closed his eyes in concentration, exhaling. Where were they? Sasuke caught the tail of a familiar chakra signature and began to follow its trail. He tilted his head back.

 _The roof._

Sasuke suppressed his chakra, retaining it inside his body. He leapt from staircase to staircase, moving in stealth. It was safer than using shunshin—the body flicker jutsu—around highly skilled ninjas such as Madara and Tobirama. That would be the same as asking for a death wish. Two versus one wouldn't be pretty.

He stopped, foot lightly tapping the cold cement ground. Sasuke swiftly twisted his body to the side when he saw the door to the roof open. He leaned against the wall, peering through the gap for any signs of Madara or Tobirama. Sasuke squinted, hearing muffled noises grow clear and distinct. There was no one in sight except for the fluttering sheets.

"What did you come here for?" Madara spat, glaring at the other man.

Tobirama sighed, placing his hands to rest on his hip, thumbs in front. He leaned his head back and said, "I'm here to convince you."

Madara snorted, bringing a hand to cover his face. "Convince me?" He chuckled, bending over when that small chuckle turned into a violent laughing fit. He held his stomach and swept his hand from his face to his forehead.

"You? You don't look like you agree with Hashirama's idea." Madara stared straight at Tobirama. "If this is how you try to convince someone," he gestured to the man's grouchy face, "come try again in another hundred years."

"Look, you know my brother," Tobirama said. He waved a hand. "You know he'll keep nagging and whining at you until you say yes." He was given no response though he knew Madara agreed with him.

"I don't like the idea of letting a dangerous man like you raise a child," he admitted and heard another snort from the Uchiha. "It's Brother's decision and it seems he's intent on pushing the Uchiha boy on you so I suggest you give up," Tobirama said.

"I refuse," was Madara's answer.

"I don't see a problem. Other than the fact that you'll be a bad role model, what's the problem?" Tobirama waited. He'd shoot down each of Madara's arguments with his own until the man surrendered. Tobirama could be patient.

"Hah! You tell me." Madara glared across the empty space at Tobirama.

The white bed sheets hung in rows behind each of them and every time the wind blew, Sasuke could make out the two pairs of legs. The hospital roof looked the same as it had before.

"What do you mean?" Tobirama grit out, disliking the accusing tone directed at him.

"It's you isn't it? The one that brought that Uchiha child here," Madara said.

"No, it wasn't me. Why would you think I would go out of my way to bring your clansman here? It doesn't make sense. You're saying I found those two injured kids somewhere and left them for the patrol unit to find?" Tobirama hissed.

"Yes, that's what I'm saying," Madara replied. He balled his hands into fists, digging his nails into his palm. He chewed on his bottom lip, trembling.

"You're the only one who would do that. What do you want from me? What do you gain from bringing a boy who looks like _him_ to me?" he shouted, stomping forward and grasping Tobirama's black shirt.

A hand yanked at his wrist but Madara wouldn't let go. "You think I would sink that low?" he growled. Tobirama huffed angrily. "You think I would go out of my way to show you your dead brother?"

"Yes!"

"Enough already, Madara. What would I gain from shoving a boy who looks like Izuna in your face?"

"Don't you dare say his name! You have no right," he yelled. Madara reached to his leg, grabbing at air. He'd forgotten there were no weapons allowed in the hospitals. Instead, he threw his fist at the other's face, knocking Tobirama a couple steps back.

"You'd get to see me suffering," Madara said under his breath, shaking in maybe it was anger, hate, pity for himself, many things.

Tobirama didn't lift his head. He remained in the position Madara's punch forced him in. He deserved this, he thought. He understood the pain of losing a brother, understood that it was him who killed Madara's brother. There was no helping it, right? After all, it was wartime and…his brothers were killed by the Uchihas. An eye for an eye, was it? Tobirama would give at least this much leeway because he still had his older brother.

As expected of his brother's childhood friend. Tobirama almost smiled to himself. Madara knew his brother's personality well, accusing him rather than considering Hashirama.

"As much as that sounds tempting, I wouldn't sink that low," Tobirama repeated. "Never."

The other man didn't say anything and he didn't know where to throw his confusion and everything welling inside him at. Madara ground his sandals harshly against the cement, clenching his jaw. He covered his eyes and sighed.

"Forget it," he said, walking past Tobirama. The other turned to follow him and they both stopped abruptly.

"Who's there?" Tobirama voiced.

 _Shit._

When had his chakra leaked? Sasuke didn't remember his chakra control being that bad. Did his control go haywire from the space-time jutsu? He couldn't run now because they'd realize it was him later so he braced himself for a particular question.

The door squeaked open, revealing Madara and Tobirama. Sasuke had to shield his eyes from the sudden flood of sunlight.

"What are you doing here?" Tobirama asked, staring down at Sasuke.

"I was looking for the bathroom," Sasuke said. He wasn't ever great at lying impromptu.

"Well, it's not here. This is the roof if you didn't noti—" Tobirama was interrupted by another voice.

"It's on the floor of your room," Madara said. The boy was staring up at him innocently and he looked away.

"Come on, let's get back." Tobirama pushed past the two and stepped down a stair. He opened his mouth to ask why they weren't moving when he noticed Sasuke's hard breathing and Madara's hesitant hands. The boy had only just rested one day after being heavily injured. He wanted to make fun of Madara's docility around children. He couldn't because he knew why the man acted like that.

Reaching his arms out, Tobirama guided a child's hand and an adult's hand into a touch. He fit the hands into a hold and smirked. He received two blank expressions and it was too funny that he had to laugh.

"Don't get me wrong. You guys…were giving me the same face and it was amusing to see," Tobirama said. The pair of Uchihas narrowed their eyes at him and he turned away before he could laugh again.

The way back to the Sasuke and Naruto's shared hospital room was quiet. It was weird. Sasuke gaze travelled from his joined hand, up Madara's arm, to the man's face. Why did he have to hold this guy's hand? He was distracted enough that he tripped over his feet. A hand squeezed his and pulled, helping him stay upright.

Their eyes caught each others. "You…okay?" Madara murmured.

"Yeah…" Sasuke nodded.

"Next time, come up with a better lie," the man whispered and Sasuke went still for a moment.

"Who said I didn't need to go?" he shot back and at that, Madara's mouth curved a little.

By the time they reached the room, Sasuke's breathing had evened out. Madara released his hand as Sasuke went to open the door. On the other side of the door he heard the Hokage's muffled laugh.

"You two shocked us when you started wrestling," Sasuke heard Mito say.

"What's wrong?" Madara asked behind him, wondering why the boy wasn't going in.

"Mito, all boys are like that. By the way Naruto, what's your relation with Sasuke?" Hashirama asked. "Did you two find each other on the battlefield?"

"You going to open the door or not?" Tobirama grunted.

A bratty snicker rang in Sasuke's ears.

"Sasuke's….my friend," Naruto said.

Tobirama moved in front of Sasuke and opened the door himself. The adults shuffled themselves in and started conversing.

"Sasuke," Naruto called his name again, this time directly addressing him and smiled. Sasuke glanced at him and stayed silent.

* * *

A couple days passed and the doctor at the hospital signed Naruto and Sasuke's discharge papers. It was relaxing for them both as it was anxious sitting on their beds during their recovery. Naruto would try to get Sasuke to talk to him and sometimes it'd work.

There wasn't much to say other than exchange mundane talk and greetings. There wasn't much to ask the other either because it sunk into Naruto that he was in the same boat as Sasuke and his friend wouldn't know anymore than he did. He'd calmed down and thought things through. They wouldn't find anything while that were forced to sit in the hospital anyways.

Though that didn't stop Naruto from trying to strike up a conversation. They usually ended up as a one-sided conversation on his part with the rare grunt from the other. Sasuke didn't seem too interested, but Naruto could tell he was listening carefully the whole time.

Finally, it was time for them to go. Hashirama and Mito would take Naruto to their home and Madara would take Sasuke to his. There was an issue brought up about the adoption papers. Hashirama shrugged, resolving the problem by saying they could do it later when they all settled down. Tobirama's rambling on proper and legal procedures was vetoed.

"I'm the Hokage, remember?" Hashirama said playfully to which Tobirama groaned.

Sasuke and Naruto changed out of their hospital robes and into their own clothes. Mito took on the task and washed their dirty clothes. It was nice to be back into their usual clothes. Naruto guessed their clothes shrunk along with their bodies. He pat around for his forehead protector and paused.

That's right, it wouldn't make sense if he had one on in this period. He hoped he didn't lose it though.

They exited their room, meeting with the welcome arms of their to-be parents…or temporary family. Mito grabbed Naruto's hands, swinging them lightly. "I can't wait to show you around…"

Naruto blinked, taken aback by the woman's attitude. Was she always this excited? He didn't recall her showing any sign of excitement.

After a small talk from Hashirama to the others, the adults said their farewells and parted.

"See you, Sasuke."

"Yeah, see you."

Naruto watched as Sasuke's figure retreated, moving further away from him. He'd seen this before. A transparent film of a taller Sasuke overlapped with the current one. He held his breath, unconsciously reaching his hand out.

"Wait…" His hand grabbed an afterimage arm, slipping through.

"Naruto?" Hashirama's voice didn't register.

"Wait, Sasuke!" Naruto shouted, stumbling forward. Sasuke turned around and his eyes widened as Naruto reached for his arm. It was an expression he'd seen several times.

"Don't…don't…" Naruto tugged gently on Sasuke's arm, pleading for something.

Sasuke was shaken out of his shock and peeled Naruto's hand off him. "Naruto," he whispered, staring at Naruto's crestfallen look. It was a face of fear, panic, despair, pain and hope mingled together. He struggled with himself, searching, and debating whether or not he should say the things that would reassure Naruto.

Hashirama, Mito, Tobirama and Madara watched. They watched the two boys interact. The two friends, or so one of them claimed, share a moment half of them couldn't comprehend.

"I'll see you _later_ ," Sasuke said and smirked. "Usuratonkachi."

"….Sasuke…teme. Shut up and go already," Naruto said back, a lop-sided grin on him.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N** : I hoped nothing sounded too rushed or too slow. It was hard deciding what to leave out for now because I didn't want to stuff information down your throats. Again, I'll be proofreading tomorrow night. I thought it'd be better to update at 12:30 midnight than tomorrow 5pm. The semester is starting to kick off and I'm a little behind already so updates will be slower.

Guest 1: No, Tsunade hasn't been born yet. On the Naruto wikia page, she's born years after Tobirama takes over as Hokage.

Guest 2: So you have noticed. He'll be here, not yet though.

* * *

The wind rapped against the window, sending leaves and tree branches to scratch the glass. Naruto stared at the beige coloured walls and sluggishly rolled over on his side to look out the window. The bedsheets wrinkled at the movement, the blanket on him falling a bit to the side. He watched the gray clouds lazily float along with little interest.

It's autumn, he thought. Was it also autumn when the Fourth Shinobi World War started? Naruto couldn't remember. He closed his eyes. There were only memories of the preparation of war, ninjas bustling around reporting various situations to the Kages, orders being thrown left to right and a heavy atmosphere of uncertainty.

With a twitch of his hand, a cool sensation on his fingertips made Naruto open his eyes. His gaze landed on the object he was holding. He brushed a thumb against the metal, tracing over the Konoha emblem engraved onto the plate. Naruto paused as he hit a long horizontal scratch and swept his thumb across it slowly. He clutched the forehead protector and sat up—resolved to confirm Sasuke's intentions.

It was yesterday that Naruto and Sasuke parted to their respective new homes. He had been nervous when Sasuke started to walk away at the hospital, but was relieved that his friend implied he wouldn't be running off on his own. For now that was.

When Hashirama, Mito and Naruto left the hospital together it was around noon. The three of them went out for lunch—sadly, Mito dismissed Naruto's suggestion for ramen and Hashirama's for barbeque—and a stroll. The couple wanted to give him a tour of the village as they shopped for Naruto's necessities he would need moving in with them. He didn't appreciate Mito's remarks though.

"You will need new clothes as well," she had said. Mito pointed at Naruto's black and orange two piece jumpsuit and his gaze followed her finger. "You cannot be wearing that everyday and I am sure you don't have anything else to wear."

"Excuse me but, you can't make me take this off," Naruto retorted, patting his jacket.

"If it's Mito, anything is possible," Hashirama said, snickering as he walked past them. Apparently someone was amused with the situation.

Mito turned her head and smiled at her husband, saying, "Sometimes I wish that were true."

Her eyes returned to Naruto and the way she looked at him made his palms sweat. He didn't want to back off so he kept his gazed fixed on her. Naruto couldn't read Mito's expression because it was blank and free of any indication of what she was thinking. The staring continued for a long thirty seconds more and then he heard her breathe out.

"As long as you keep the jacket and pants clean, that's fine," Mito said, her white sleeve of her robe swaying as she stuck her arm out. "You will need undershirts, shirts and underwear however."

She took a couple steps before stopping. Her hand peeked from the sleeve, waving. Naruto didn't understand what the gesture meant and frowned.

"Come," Mito said and waved her hand again.

"Uh, what?" Naruto strode over to her and stopped next to her. "What?" he repeated.

Her right hand grasped his left and Naruto was pulled along the streets.

 _Oh. That's what she meant._

Naruto glanced up at the woman holding his hand before looking ahead, seeing Hashirama waiting for them in front of a shop waving at them. He could feel heat radiate from the body beside him. Mito's hold was loose, yet somehow Naruto doubted she would lose him if he got knocked by a crowd. He let the weight of his hand be carried and his fingers gradually closed around Mito's.

* * *

"Do you mind if we stop by my house first?" Madara asked the boy. "I want to drop off the adoption papers."

Sasuke nodded, understanding the man didn't want to carry those documents around with him. Though really, he didn't care.

The two didn't speak the rest of the way to Madara's home. Sasuke stared at the man's back, trailing a couple meters behind. He could see—if only barely—Madara's stiff posture as they neared the Uchiha compound.

A young girl ran past them, giggling and chasing after her friends. She tripped, scraping her knee and tears began to well when her eyes caught Sasuke's. Sasuke faltered in his steps. The girl looked at him expectantly and as he was about to turn away, he saw Madara watching him.

Fine, he'd play his part as a seven year old…or that was what Sasuke wanted to say. He huffed and offered the girl his hand which she happily took.

"T-thank you," she stuttered and smiled shyly.

"Yeah," Sasuke said.

The girl glanced behind him and hurriedly looked back. She bowed and ran off.

The two began walking again in silence, this time side by side. Sasuke noted that the Uchiha compound seemed closer to the Hokage tower than it had been in his time. He remembered the First Hokage's incredibly long answer to his question that ended with him listening to the Hokage's life story. The Uchihas would be pushed further from the central area and it was likely to happen soon.

Once they had reached the foot of Madara's home, the man stood unmoving. He quickly went inside the house and came back just as quick.

"Come in. I'll show you where your room is," Madara said and Sasuke followed the man into the house.

He tried to memorize the place as they moved down the halls and turned corners. The task was easier than he'd thought. It was similar to…his house. There was a dojo, a pond, grassy backyard and several rooms like a normal house. Sasuke marvelled at the similarities of his traditional home and Madara's, smoothing his hand over the wooden pillars. He snapped out of his daze when he heard the sound of a door sliding.

"This is your room," the man said. Madara paused, looking at Sasuke. The boy stared back, his childish eyes blinking.

"What?"

Madara turned away. "No, nothing."

Sasuke noticed the man's toes dig into the floor.

"Do you want something to eat?" Madara asked. He still wasn't looking at Sasuke.

"Sure."

They moved into another room where a low table and cushions rested on the tatami mats. Sasuke was told to wait in the room and Madara left. He waited for a some minutes and got up, wandering around the house. There was no reason to listen to Madara.

Door after door, closet after closet later, Sasuke finished exploring most of the household. There wasn't anything particular about Madara's home. There was nothing and it was as if no one lived here. Scrolls were shelved neatly in a small room, futons were stored away in the closet and decorative Uchiha symbols pinned onto the walls. Madara's house was unnecessarily large when he was the only one living in it.

As Sasuke passed along the corridors, a door caught his attention and he stepped backwards. He hadn't looked into this room yet. He hooked his fingers in the handle and slid the door. A strip of light shined through the slit and Sasuke could make out scrolls sprawled across the floor and the edge of a table.

A booming noise startled Sasuke and the door slammed shut. He almost jumped but held it in.

"What…are you doing here?" came a voice behind him.

"I was exploring," Sasuke said, staring at the paper door.

"…I told you to stay in the room."

Sasuke turned around to face the man and apologized, "Sorry, I was kind of curious."

The man shifted on his feet. "This is my room. Don't go in without permission," Madara said and spun on his heels, making his way onto the veranda outside the room. He paced to the end of the hallway and stopped, peering back at Sasuke. His fringes covered the side of his face.

"Let's go to the kitchen. I made lunch for us," Madara said and disappeared around the corner.

When Madara was out of sight, Sasuke sighed, glancing at the door behind him one more time before jogging to the kitchen. He guessed acting like a child had its perks.

What he stepped into wasn't the kitchen. It was the same room Madara had told him to stay put in. He was greeted with a Japanese styled lunch served in a box with separated compartments. It was the typical combination of rice, fish and miso soup. Sasuke sat down on the cushion with legs folded in half. His legs were going to cramp later. His eyes flickered to the man in front of him.

"What's wrong?" Madara asked, pulling the bowl of soup away from his lips.

"Nothing," Sasuke replied and picked up his chopsticks. He poked at his grilled fish and began to eat. The meat was fluffy on his tongue and it tasted familiar. He stuffed some rice in his mouth, chewed and swallowed. Sasuke had his hand frozen in the air, stunned. It really did taste familiar. His eyes softened as he gazed down at his meal and Madara noticed.

"You made this?" Sasuke lifted his head to look at Madara.

"Yes, I did," he responded. When his parents died, it was only him and his younger brother with no adult to take of them—not that they needed one at that age as Madara was forced to replace his father as head. Usually it was his younger brother that did the cooking while he was busy leading the Uchiha clan but eventually that also came to an end. Madara often cooked now.

His stomach unclenched and his shoulders dropped at the faint gentleness the boy's expression held. He heard Sasuke hum in approval. Madara let out a shaky breath and continued on with his meal.

The dishes were done and there was nothing to do. Sasuke didn't want to risk getting caught a second time trying to sneak into Madara's room for clues or anything useful. Besides, he couldn't go in even if he wanted to with the man in there himself.

Sasuke decided to go to his room and test out his chakra control. He sat down, legs crisscrossed. He closed his eyes and started to move his chakra upwards. Sasuke felt the chakra flow in his body and pool in his eyes. He slowly opened them and was successful so far, his eyes gleaming red.

A sudden pressure had him struggle to keep them open. It was like his chakra flow jumped. Sasuke blinked, prying his eyes wider with effort and then he saw it. His chakra pathway that should be flowing smoothly was jerking in some places, gaps in the flow.

Sasuke flexed his fingers and squeezed his hand into a fist, watching the pathway with his sharingan. He seemed okay for the moment. The time he attempted to conceal his presence and tail Madara to the roof of the hospital, his control slipped—this intermittent flow of chakra must've caused that to happen. Though…Sasuke examined at the rest of his body, the pathways looked like it was flowing better than when he first activated his sharingan.

The finding perturbed him, but he didn't know which part of it was making him feel that way. Something caused this strange…

Sasuke's hand flew to his hip and he spun around, in a crouched position. His hand grabbed at nothing and he grumbled, remembering his sword wasn't on him. He relaxed his guard a bit at the intruder.

"Izu…" Madara uttered and went rigid. He grasped at the doorframe and ducked his head, hair falling over his face.

"Finished your work?" Sasuke asked, getting to his feet. Man, was it Madara's hobby to take him by surprise every time?

There was a pause.

Madara raised his head, noticing the boy's eyes weren't red anymore. "Yeah…Want to go out for tea? I usually meet up with Hashirama around this time."

Sasuke nodded. "Okay."

They slipped their sandals on by the entrance way and stalked down the streets. Eyes bore into them as they passed by people, murmuring noises amongst the crowd. If he stared back at them, they would hush and turn their backs.

This again, Sasuke thought. Didn't the Uchihas have better things to do than stare at him and Madara? They exited the Uchiha compound and wandered into the central shopping districts of Konoha.

"Does it bother you?"

"No," Sasuke answered.

"I see…"

* * *

Naruto threw open his window and leapt out. He wasn't doubting Sasuke, he just wanted to make sure they were on the same page, same…

He jumped from roof to street lights to roof, speeding through the village trying to find Sasuke. When he thought back to the Second Hokage's words, he would seethe.

It happened an hour or two after their lunch. Hashirama had returned to the Hokage Tower to read through and sign papers that required his special attention. Tobirama, having rejected his brother's invitation to join the three of them for lunch—opting to remain behind to file late reports—heaved a stack of documents onto Hashirama's desk.

Mito dragged Naruto out of the way, letting the two brothers work. She ushered him into a storage room within the tower. She rummaged through the shelf and held something in the air. Naruto turned his palms face up and Mito pushed an object in his hands. His eyes widened.

"This belongs to you, yes?"

The corner of his lips tingled and a smile spread on him. Naruto nodded. "Yeah, it's mine. Thanks." He clutched the two forehead protectors in his hands.

"Is it a memento of your parents?" she asked. "It seems like it is very important to you."

"It is…It's important to me," Naruto said. His eyes drifted over to a hilt and he pointed at it. "That's Sasuke's."

Mito reached for the sword and withdrew it from the shelf. She handed Naruto the short sword.

"It's Sasuke's memento of his parents," he explained, hoping to steer away suspicion. He hated lying, though, there wasn't any helping it in this situation. It was still probable that they were spies. This is the past, he repeated to himself. He personally knew no one from the era except for Sasuke who landed here with him and that didn't count. One misstep could cause total destruction or maybe he was exaggerating.

"Well then, be sure to give that to him when you see him," Mito said.

"Yeah, I will."

The red-headed woman locked the storage room and on their way out, they heard a yell coming from the Hokage's office. They exchanged a look and hurried to the office. Mito pushed the door open revealing an exasperated Tobirama who had his hand covering his eyes and a pouting Hashirama.

"Mito! Glad you're here." Hashirama beamed.

"You know what, no."

"What is going on here?" Mito questioned, her brows knitting.

"You see, I was telling Tobirama here to let Madara know I won't be able to make it today," Hashirama said. "And he's saying no."

Tobirama motioned a hand. "I've seen him too many times this past week for my liking. There's no need for me to go see him if I don't have to."

"Oh but you have to," Hashirama pressed. "I want to go…" He plopped his head down onto his desk, sheets of paper scattering to the ground.

"You can't," Tobirama said, crossing his arms and gestured to the fresh stack of papers on his brother's desk. "The reports are urgent and need to be finalized before 4:30p.m. And knowing you, if you go out for your tea time with Madara, you guys will end up chatting through the evening."

"I can go tell him for you," Mito said.

Hashirama sprung upright. "You will?"

"Yes, I will. What time will he be there?"

"In…" Hashirama looked lost.

"It's two right now, Brother," Tobirama informed.

"He'll be there in an hour."

"Work hard," Mito said and Hashirama chuckled, rubbing the back of his head.

"Are you sure you don't want to go with Mito?" Hashirama said.

His brother sighed. "Yes, I'm sure."

"Sasuke will likely be there too. Don't you want to get to know him better?" It was Mito now.

Tobirama's eyes narrowed. What was she trying to hint at? Either it was meant to egg him on to be more involved with the Uchiha child or.…she wanted him to get close to the boy.

"Just because I'm okay with Kagami, doesn't mean I'm okay with all Uchiha children," he started. "Although, I admit it's a shame that the kid is going to be living with Madara."

"What do you mean?" Naruto said and Tobirama glanced at him, acknowledging he was present.

"He's going to grow up to be the same as Madara," he said.

"Sasuke isn't like Madara," Naruto bit out.

"They're two different people, Tobirama," Hashirama chipped in. "The way you say it, it's like Madara's a bad person. Madara's a good person at heart…"

 _Bullshit_.

Naruto nearly spat the word aloud.

Tobirama looked away, unsure of what to say. If he opened his mouth, he'd say the same things to his brother and his brother would too—they'd be having the same argument and it was getting ridiculous even for Tobirama.

"I know what're you going to say, Brother. All I mentioned was that Madara's going to be an influence to the Uchiha kid, that's it," Tobirama said, firmly.

So the Second Hokage and Madara were on bad terms, Naruto noted absently.

He didn't like this. Sasuke was different from Madara, they were completely different people…One would indiscriminately kill his comrades once they outlived their usefulness and the other wouldn't. That was a clear distinction right there and Tobirama was suggesting Sasuke was similar to Madara?

A hand pat his shoulder and Naruto's inner rambling ceased. He looked to the side to see Mito facing the two bickering brothers.

"Stop hurting yourself," she said.

Naruto registered her words and winced, bringing his hand to his face. There were deep nail marks on his palm and he wasn't aware of when he dug into his own skin. He wiped his mouth with a hand, a red trail streaking it. His bottom lip stung.

"Have you heard of the saying? Shinobi are those who endure to achieve their goals…"

Naruto grimaced and squeezed his eyes shut. "I know it…very well," he whispered, barely audible.

Mito went on, "But I think it can also apply to everyone, not just ninjas." She pulled Naruto closer so his shoulder bumped into her hip. "I know Sasuke is your friend, but please try not to hurt yourself."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N** : It's been about two weeks, I hope you guys aren't bothered by the wait time. It's difficult for me to write this fic and I know I said that a lot already. Don't misunderstand—I like the idea, I just don't like my approach. I keep changing and cutting things out.  
Though to have you guys enjoy it would be worthwhile. Half the material that was supposed to be included in this chapter will be pushed to the next because of time constraints (first midterms this wednesday and two next week).  
On another note has anyone seen that tumblr post stirringwind made about Tobirama and how his actions caused problems for Naruto's generation? It's hilarious.

ira quiin: Sorry about that. Sadly, I can't write this story any faster than I am now. Though who knows, maybe once this picks up it'll come easier to me.

* * *

He had no reason to stay, so he left. Naruto gently removed Mito's hands from him and headed for the corridor. As expected, the woman trotted after him, asking where he was going.

"…Home. I was just going to put these," he lifted the objects in his hands for her to see, "in my room," Naruto said.

She looked thoughtful for moment and nodded. "Let's go." Mito paused, puzzled at Naruto's shake.

"I can find my way back."

The woman looked like she wanted to object. "If you are sure then I won't stop you, but if you get lost, ask one of the villagers for directions," Mito said.

"Uh, since it's on my way, why don't I go tell Madara that your husband can't come?" Naruto offered, his toes curling in his sandals.

"You are a good child, Naruto. Well then, I'll entrust that task to you," she said, smiling and bent her knees. Mito laid a soft pat on his head, smoothing his hair.

Something in Naruto's chest knotted together and he could feel a tingle in his cheeks. He laughed, scratching his head.

"No, I…"

"Also, call my husband Hashirama. We are not strangers." Mito's hand swept to the side of his head and cupped his face, stroking her thumb across his whiskered cheek.

"I'm still worried you might get lost…You have not been here long enough to know your way around the village, perhaps I should come with you after all."

The area between Mito's eyebrows creased as she expressed her concern for the young boy. On one hand, she was confident an outgoing child like Naruto would find his way by asking the villagers for directions yet on the other, she was afraid he'd really end up lost. He was merely a seven year old boy in an unfamiliar environment.

While Mito was genuinely concerned for the boy's wellbeing, she couldn't dismiss the slight possibility that Naruto would run away from Konoha. She didn't know how Naruto felt about being adopted by her and Hashirama and though he did give his consent that he was okay with it all, she was skeptical.

How unusual it was for children of Naruto and Sasuke's age to be so calm through the series of events they've experienced in a short amount of time: To lose their family, barely escape death on the search for safety, reach Konoha and finally be told they would be living with strangers. Even then, neither of the children made a fuss, excluding the day they woke up in the hospital, nervous and confused. Or was this what war did to children?

"I'll be fine. I wanted to explore the village anyways," Naruto said. "This will be my home so I might as well start earlier than later."

Mito let out a long breath and her arm slid from Naruto's cheek. She supposed Naruto made a valid point. Exploring was what children liked to do and they were curious by nature.

"Yes, it is true you will need to know your way around here sooner or later…"

"I want some time alone," Naruto said. The woman, his guardian he guessed, straightened and her expression became hard. He fixed his eyes on Mito. She returned the gaze, looking into his eyes.

The boy stood unrelenting, determination etched onto his features. There was a shimmer, a captivating storm of emotions brewing in his blue irises. She could see that beneath the baby fat the skin of Naruto's face was pulled tight and very much unlike a child's. Mito smiled, there was no winning against Naruto—especially when he had directed such a candid stare at her.

"I understand. Take all the time you need," Mito said and Naruto beamed. "I trust you will not be causing any trouble?"

Naruto gulped at the warning. It seemed she already had a good grasp on what his personality was like and came to the conclusion that he'd make trouble, or at least attract it.

"I won't." He pouted and crossed his arms, looking aside. He was mildly offended by the lack of trust Mito put in him. Who did she think he was? A child who played pranks?

A giggle made Naruto raise his head. Mito gave him a kind smile.

"Have a safe trip," she said.

That tingling feeling from before came back stronger and Naruto had to keep himself from moving. He took a step back, turning in a swish and dashed off.

"I'll go now!" he shouted, waving a goodbye to Mito.

* * *

"Well, work hard Brother," Tobirama said and spun on his heels.

"Wait, where are you going?" Hashirama asked.

The younger turned his head, hand holding the door knob. "My job here is done so I'll be home relaxing."

Tobirama stepped out, making it to the end of the hall before bumping into Mito.

"You can go talk to Brother now. We're done speaking," he said.

The woman nodded and asked, "What will you do now?"

"I'm going to go home. There's not much left to be done today, I might as well relax."

A lie.

Mito could detect it from miles away. She didn't say anything and they parted with a few words. She was faced with the Hokage office's door and knocked. Mito let herself into the room and the door clicked softly as she closed it.

Her husband stopped his work and greeted her.

"Sorry about that, Tobirama was being difficult," Hashirama said, pressing the end of his pen to his temple.

"It's fine. You know how he is, stubborn."

Hashirama laughed. "He's almost as stubborn as Madara, don't you think?"

"I think they are equal in that area. Too stubborn for their own good," Mito responded. "How are the blood test results?"

He laid his pen down onto his desk and bridged his hands together, the cheery mood gone.

"The hospital staff has been busy and haven't had the time to analyze it," Hashirama said. "Well, it's nothing too urgent. I wouldn't worry."

"I'm not worried, simply curious," Mito corrected. "I heard Tobirama say he was taking the day off because there was nothing to do."

Hashirama looked aside, frowning. "There's always something to do. He's a workaholic, Mito. He takes it upon himself to watch scouts that are sent by other villages, does paperwork and concerns himself with the village's defence power. They're things the Hokage should be doing," he rambled.

"The Hokage doesn't do everything alone," Mito said and Hashirama buried his face into his hands.

"I know."

"The ideal situation would be to have three heads looking out for Konoha's safety," she muttered and Hashirama silently agreed.

* * *

It wasn't too difficult to find the couple's home as it was relatively close to the Hokage Tower. Naruto paced inside after locking the doors and went up the stairs into his given room. He plopped onto the bed, the forehead protectors and short sword underneath his body.

What should he do? What is that I have to do, Naruto wondered as he had several times and none of those times did he come up with a clear answer. He knew he had to push Madara out of his thoughts or it'd interfere with his ability to make proper decisions. There were whispers in his mind telling him to make Madara pay for what he's done, eliminate the future threat of Konoha and he'd reassure himself that it wasn't out of fear.

Right now Naruto should be finding a way back to the present and think of nothing but that. He groaned, deciding he'd wasted enough time mulling over his future actions and rolling on the bed. He grabbed Sasuke's sword and leapt out the window.

Again, Naruto hadn't much trouble in locating the dango shop. The storefront looked the same as he remembered in his era. It was the shop that Kakashi-sensei and all the adults frequented when they gathered to chit chat.

"What are you guys doing…?" Naruto broke into a cold sweat at the scene before him. It was an unbelievable sight. His feet were rooted solid into the ground.

He was sure his question was heard by Sasuke's movement, yet the other didn't respond.

"Hey…don't ignore me!"

"Be quiet," Madara said.

Sasuke peeked from the dango he was eating, seeing Naruto stiffen and zip his lips.

"If you can't tell," he started, bringing the stick to his mouth, "we're having dango and tea."

The boy sprang into motion, a leg and arm in front like he was ready for a challenge.

"I can see that. I meant why…um," Naruto's gaze shifted to the man sitting on the same bench beside Sasuke, "never mind."

He shuffled towards the pair, eyes wandering in all directions. He paused once he reached the bench and chose to sit next to Sasuke by the edge and furthest away from Madara.

"I can't believe you're eating sweet stuff," Naruto muttered.

"It's not sweet, it's salty."

"That's gros…" He closed his mouth and looked the other way when he caught a glimpse behind Sasuke. He could feel his friend's eyes on him.

"Scaredy cat."

He almost missed it. Naruto's hands found themselves fisting Sasuke's shirt. The dango in Sasuke's hand was knocked to the floor, soiled by the dirt.

"I'm not," Naruto growled, his jaw locked.

Sasuke scoffed, "What's wrong, Naruto?"

"You're wrong, I'm not…"

They both ignored Madara's reprimanding words, "Don't waste food, brats. Who do you think is paying?"

Sasuke slapped away Naruto's grip on him and sneered.

"You are, you just don't want to admit it. What are you so scared of?" he asked, searching for an answer on Naruto's face.

"I said I'm not scared of anything. Do you want me to say that I am?" Naruto argued back. He wasn't afraid of anything and he wasn't scared of Madara. It was like tip toeing along the edge of a cliff only for there to be bare stalagmite below when one was near Madara, knowing what the man was capable of—what a powerful existence he would become.

A sharp clatter alerted Naruto and he jerked his head. A man towered over him and he'd thrown a plate of dango on the bench between him and Sasuke.

"Eat," Madara ordered calmly, but he sounded irritated to Naruto.

His mouth hung open to respond. He didn't get a chance to as Madara returned to his seat. Naruto watched Sasuke pick up the dust covered dango and toss it into the trash.

"Sorry." His friend shrugged wordlessly and he began to eat his own dango. "Oh, and by the way, I came here to deliver your sword," he said and Naruto handed Sasuke his weapon. Sasuke took it and tucked it in his purple knotted rope around his waist.

"Don't I get a thank you?"

"Hn," was all he got.

The afternoon wore on with the three sipping their tea and sitting in quietness, listening to the sound of daily activities of the villagers. Sasuke kept glancing Naruto's way and he didn't know why. He was about to ask when a familiar presence approached them.

"I see you're all getting along," Tobirama said and all heads turned to him.

"What are you doing here?" Madara's mood soured at the man's appearance, annoyed that his peace was disrupted.

Tobirama's eyes narrowed. "I had some business in the neighbourhood," he said and looked at Naruto briefly.

"Where's Hashirama?"

He huffed, tapping the spine of a notebook in his hand on his shoulder. "I see Naruto forgot to tell you my brother can't make it today."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head and chuckled. He'd completely forgotten because of the initial shock Sasuke and Madara gave him. He was dumbfounded seeing the two sitting on the same bench without trying to kill each other.

"Sorry," he apologized.

The older man sighed. "It's fine, but I'll have you and your friend help me." Tobirama brushed off the intent and questioning gaze Madara aimed at him and continued, "Man power is scarce and it'd be a waste to use it up for a small task. Don't worry, I'll watch over you while you work."

"If you're going to watch us, you might as well do it yourself," Naruto said and Tobirama coughed.

"I've got the rest of the day off and I'd like to enjoy it. I also think it'd be best you don't misunderstand the Hokage's kindness for charity."

Naruto looked at Tobirama strangely. "What is it that you really want to say?" he asked.

"I'm saying you should work to pull your own weight," Tobirama said. "We're…" he paused, hesitating whether or not he should reveal the village's conditions to an outside child.

"Wartimes are harsh and you need all the help you can get," Sasuke stated.

After a moment of silence, Tobirama nodded. "Yes, even if you two are children, you should be able to handle easy tasks and you'll be paid."

His eyes travelled to Sasuke and lingered there.

"It'll be good experience for you too…Sasuke. This is a D-ranked mission and if you remember Brother's explanation of how Konoha works, it's the lowest risk mission a ninja can get," he said. "I assume you'll become a shinobi of this village like the rest of your clan?"

Naruto noticed Sasuke's fingers twitch before he answered, "Yeah…There's nothing we're better at than fighting."

 _Sasuke…_

Fingers grasped and twisted in fabric.

The man hummed, accepting the positive response. Adding another Uchiha into their military force would be a great asset. There was a high chance that the boy hadn't participated in any large scale battles judging from his age and that meant it was likely he differed from the majority of the Uchihas—he was yet to be tainted.

The boy could become rather violent as Tobirama had seen in the hospital when Sasuke pinned Naruto to the bed by the neck. He'd seen an excellent display of speed. It was a shame Sasuke was left in Madara's care. There was much potential that if raised properly, he could grow to be an outstanding ninja. Though his attitude would prove to be a problem in team missions, it wasn't entirely impossible to work with.

"So? What do you want us to do?" Naruto asked.

"Clean graffiti."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N** : Don't you love how the content I want to put in always gets pushed to the next chapter? Lots to be explained and I'm slow paced when it comes to writing so there's bound to be confusion. I apologize for the shorter chapter. Exams made me tired this whole week and all I wanted to do after them was roll around, reading fics. Also, how do you guys prefer Kurama's dialogue to be? I've seen people use **bold** , and _italics_.

* * *

"I can't believe he's making us clean graffiti off some old lady's place," Naruto grumbled as he scrubbed the walls of the shop they were given to clean.

Sasuke made a noise of acknowledgement and Naruto had to pause to make sure he heard right. There was a tinge of playfulness mixed in the noise. It could have been his imagination.

"I'm not happy about it either, but the faster you work, the faster we can leave and sleep."

His friend wanted to sleep rather than eat first? Had Sasuke become lazier the last time he saw him? Naruto stared at Sasuke and he must've stared too long because Sasuke eyes were on him.

"What are you looking at?" he said lowly.

"I was no…" Naruto almost responded on reflex. This was where he should be denying the accusation, should be giving a snarky remark about how Sasuke wanted attention or something, but he stopped himself. He'd had countless arguments with Sasuke in the past and most of them started from nitpicking on petty things like this.

"What're you staring at?"

"I wasn't, pay more attention around you," a spiky haired boy said.

"What'd you say? I _am_ paying attention!" a blond dressed in all orange shouted and whipped a finger at the other. He blurted random curses and rambled on and on about how he was a better shinobi with better senses who'd detect if something was coming at them before Sasuke could. He faltered when Sasuke started running at him.

"What? You looking for a fight?" Naruto took a defensive stance, arms up as a guard. It was a little too easy, he thought, to rile up his teammate to fight him. His face scrunched in confusion. He started, a tap behind him made him jerk his head towards the unknown presence.

Naruto turned, his eyes catching Sasuke's dark blue shirt blurring past him and saw the boy swing a leg out. He heard a pained groan just in time to see the enemy ninja fly backwards. His eyes darted forward.

"That's why I'm saying you aren't," Sasuke said. A sharp clang of metal on metal rang in his ears and Naruto's back thumped against his.

"The same goes for you too," Naruto spat, smirking. With a hard push, he forced the missing-nin away. The man stumbled, glaring at him.

Sasuke pulled a kunai from the holster strapped to his right thigh. He crouched, leaning back to back with his teammate. A smile crept onto his face and he closed his eyes, reopening them in red once the two of them separated in opposite directions to fend off the enemy's reinforcements.

A sense of nostalgia spread throughout Naruto as he remembered those moments when they were a genin team—him, Sakura-chan, Kakashi-sensei, and Sasuke. The thought warmed him and the knots in his muscles loosened. He smiled.

What he would do to return to those days.

"Never mind," he said. Scratching his cheek, he turned away and went back to cleaning the persistent patch of graffiti marks that wouldn't disappear. Naruto could feel Sasuke's gaze still on him and he slowed his hands.

"You know, this reminds me of when we were still doing D-rank missions with Sakura-chan and Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said. His tone was fond, sounding soft and quiet—in contrast to his usual boisterous self. He heard a wet cloth smack next to him, indicating Sasuke went back to work and had stopped paying attention to him at some point.

That wasn't right. It was that Sasuke couldn't think of anything to say. Maybe Sasuke was revelling in their past memories as he was right now. He closed his eyes, basking in the chilly breezes that blew by.

"Hey, don't stop your hands," came Sasuke's annoyed voice.

"Bastard, don't interrupt my thoughts." Naruto huffed and continued scrubbing.

* * *

The two men stood watching the children clean the assigned storefront from their spot on the other side of the road, leaning against the walls. Madara had his hands in his sleeves where it was shielded from the cold while Tobirama had his arms crossed over his chest.

Seeing the children carry out a routine-like chore like scrubbing the walls, light bantering between them, exchanging glares and hushed whispers as if they were telling a secret made it seem as if the village was peaceful. As if the rising tension of a possible war around the corner didn't exist, as if the two children hadn't been running for their lives, traumatized even, by ninjas trying to take advantage of orphaned nobodies. They seemed like normal children in a normal village like this.

"How is it with Sasuke?" Tobirama asked and it sounded louder than it actually was in Madara's ears. He took moments to form a response. Surprised, neither in a good or bad way, Tobirama hadn't snapped already just because they were close by, although they weren't in each other's personal bubble.

"He's a good kid," Madara said. His features relaxed without him noticing at the thought of Sasuke, releasing the unnecessary tension that tightened his jaw, brows and eyes. Tobirama noticed, feeling an uncomfortable sensation settle in his chest. He didn't like it. Madara wasn't supposed to give that kind of face, he wasn't allowed to look like that.

"How is Naruto?" Madara's gaze followed the blond boy's movements, watching him shake a little in laughter and Sasuke ignore him. Then, Naruto grumbled and mumbled something under his breath that made Sasuke frown.

This time it was Tobirama's turn to startle at the returned question. Madara was talking to him and not yelling.

"He's a rude and noisy brat…" he started, lolling his head to the side. He saw Naruto scoot closer to Sasuke, whispering he didn't know what with the way he angled his lips.

Was a proper conversation taking place between him and Madara?

Madara waited for the but in Tobirama's statement. Surely he had realized the similarities the boy held with a certain someone they both knew very well.

"But," he paused. Glancing at Madara, Tobirama exhaled slowly, deciding to take his brother's and Mito's advice to be as nice as he could. "He reminds of how Brother was when he was younger."

He shared his thoughts with the Uchiha and he couldn't believe it.

"Hopefully he isn't as much of a fool as Hashirama was," Madara said, dread dancing across his neutral expression. He wouldn't be able to handle another mini Hashirama if Sasuke brought Naruto over to play.

"Brother may appear foolish," Tobirama replied automatically, temporarily forgetting who he was talking to. "However, he can be quite cunning when he wants to."

It wasn't too difficult to talk to him.

"Agreed."

The conversation ended there and Tobirama felt like he was the only one to find the silence awkward. He shrugged. He tried his best to make truce and a short exchange was more than sufficient in his opinion for one day.

Tobirama kept his gaze straight ahead as Madara's eyes were on him.

"You…If you lay a finger on Sasuke, I won't hesitate to beat you," came a harsh growl.

 _Beat you until you're by death's door._

His head bowed and he let out a breath, finding the threat amusing. The cement wall absorbed the heavy blow of Tobirama's fist, a dull thud sounding instead of shattering wood. His hand slid down, revealing a shallow crack.

He glared at Madara and snarled, "I could say the same to you. It seems more likely to me that you'd attack Naruto."

"Baseless accusations are shameful."

"You mean what you're doing."

Madara looked him in the eye and there was no apology there.

"You know what I mean. Don't think I'll let you use him," he said and curled his fingers into his palm.

Tobirama did know he was referring to. However, he'd never _use_ a child whether they were an Uchiha or not. He had his morals.

"I'm not going to," he said through his teeth. Madara opened his mouth to retort when a movement from the corner of his eye grabbed his attention. Seething still, Tobirama followed the man's gaze.

Naruto had his hands positioned to perform a ninjutsu.

* * *

"Hey," Sasuke began after a few minutes.

"What?" Naruto answered without raising his head.

"Did the Nine Tails say anything to you?"

Naruto stilled and looked at Sasuke. He rolled his eyes to the sky. _Now_ he asked.

"I've been trying to talk to him days ago when I remembered he might know something about Madara's jutsu, but he hasn't responded," he said, pursing his lips. Just what in the world was Kurama doing? Where was he?

"What about the other Tailed Beasts?" Sasuke asked and Naruto shook his head.

"Their voices were quieter than Kurama's in the first place. If I can't even hear Kurama right now, that's…"

He wouldn't say impossible.

"Difficult," Naruto finished. An urge to drop everything and find his friend hit him and he threw the rag in his hand to the ground. He messed his blond locks furiously, groaning in frustration.

"Let's hurry and clean this stupid graffiti." He huffed, reaching for his rag. An idea popped in his head that would make the job easier and he stood, forming a hand seal with his hand.

"Hey," he heard Sasuke call. He poured chakra into the seal and concentrated harder when nothing happened.

"Hmm…What's going on?" he mumbled to himself. He put more effort in and finally a poof of smoke appeared next to him.

"Yes!" The triumph died down when he saw one shadow clone of himself.

"Listen to people when they'r—"

Sasuke flitted in front of Naruto and drew his blade halfway out. A kunai hit Kusunagi's edge with a ting and bounced into the air. A couple more kunais were thrown their way and Sasuke swung his sword, easily blocking them.

As if watching in slow motion, Sasuke's eyes left the man leaning against the wall, trailing over towards the kunai beginning to fall. He could foresee it with his sharingan, what would happen, yet his mind didn't register anything.

Naruto froze. Why was Tobirama throwing kunais at them? He looked up to where Sasuke was staring at and his eyes widened. Suddenly, Tobirama appeared, replacing the kunai that was knocked into the air.

Naruto's reflex arc kicked in and he yanked Sasuke's arm, numb to his own actions. That shocked Sasuke back to his senses and the two of them leapt to the roof. Naruto's shadow clone landed beside them, frowning as it stared below.

"What do you think you're doing?" It was Madara. He glowered at Tobirama, standing in the spot where Naruto and Sasuke had just fled.

"I thought I warned you."

Naruto blinked. What was going on? Sasuke on the other hand looked on in masked amusement.

"Sorry, it's a bad habit of mines," Tobirama said. He scratched his head and gestured the children to come down.

Wearily, they did, stepping next to Madara.

"Hey, hey. Saying it's a bad habit is not even an excuse." Naruto started complaining, "Don't throw those weapons at us all of a sudden! If you wanted to spar say so and we can get on it. I won't lose."

Laughter erupted from Tobirama and the man walked towards him. He reached a hand and pat Naruto on the head, pushing down.

With a smug look on his face, he said, "You're twenty years too young to beat me."

"Am not. We'll settle it right here right now since you wanted a friendly fight," Naruto retorted, cheekily.

"Were you never taught to listen until the end?"

"Sasuke's gonna help me," Naruto said. He didn't hear what Tobirama said, too wrapped up in his thoughts.

"I refuse," was Sasuke's answer. "Don't drag me into your pointless fights."

"They aren't pointless," Naruto argued.

"By bad habit I mean it's instinct that I attack shinobi who aren't Konoha's. Especially when they're performing a hand seal like you were. I believed the Uzumakis rarely used ninjutsu and when you made a shadow clone, it caught me off guard," Tobirama explained. Partially as the truth and partially to see the boy's reaction.

The one-sided cussing between the two boys stopped and Naruto looked at him. He wondered what he would say.

"I don't know sealing techniques," Naruto said, shrugging.

Unknown to the boy, his response confirmed that he wasn't a civilian Uzumaki. Confirmed that he was a ninja. It raised the possibility that he could be a spy for some other nation or stray clan's attempt to sabotage Konoha's military defence. Someone could've picked the children up as they were wandering around without a home and Tobirama couldn't rule out anything until there was concrete proof. He'd keep an eye on them as he had been doing the day he met the children.

Sasuke elbowed Naruto when Madara and Tobirama shared a glance.

"What?" he hissed.

That's what he got for making Tobirama even more cautious. He had an idea of what was going through the man's mind, but the question was how he should act accordingly to the knowledge he had.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N** : Sorry for the delay, I just couldn't sit still and type on my laptop. The next chapter will come out slow as well because I have no idea where to start even though I know what's going to happen. It's growing busy nearing the end of the semester. Please know I welcome opinions with open arms. I intended for this to be under 20k words and look where it got me.

Tee: Thanks, I'm glad you think so and I will.

Luna blanca: Aw yeah, those moments will come in the future. I'm unsure of how to get there though, bear with me haha.

Guest: I'm happy you like this!

Guest 2: You don't know how tempted I was to have them shouting, screaming at the top of their lungs, "Madara!" I'm leaning towards excluding the rabbit-goddess, but who knows, I may change my mind. That show! I watched a couple episodes and it was pretty weird in a good way. Haha yeah it does seem like that, huh? It's just that their anger is directed at different people.

* * *

A sigh.

"Well, I'll be on my way," Tobirama said, dangling his notebook at the three to show them he was a busy man despite hanging around them all evening. "I have errands to run and need to rest." The three shrugged or nodded, not really interested.

"What will you be doing?" he asked Naruto and the boy let out a long thoughtful noise.

"I'm going over to Sasuke's to play," Naruto said. He inwardly trembled, a chill skittering down and prickling the skin of his back. The temperature dipped, a menacing aura beside him signalling _watch it_.

Tobirama struggled with himself, alarms ringing in his head warning that it was a terrible idea to leave his brother's newly adoptive child with the dangerous clan leader. He looked at Naruto strangely, puzzled. The boy had to have guts to willingly venture into a demon's lair, though Tobirama supposed the want to be near his friend was greater than the fear. Was that how things worked?

"Okay. Let me know when you're done and I'll pick you up before bedtime." Tobirama waited for the boy's confirmation that they were clear on their arrangements.

"No, I'm sleeping over. I'll be back tomorrow morning," Naruto said.

A glance was sent to Madara, Madara returning the look. Tobirama wondered if the Uchiha would deny the boy from staying the night at his home and he wasn't sure what he was hoping hear. At the moment, he didn't think Madara would try anything funny and it was probably because of the man's earlier demonstration. He was ready to save the children if he had attacked for real. Tobirama was a person of logic and reasoning, but the idea that Madara was going to do that was beyond him.

"And is Madara fine with that?" he asked, directing the question at Naruto, yet his eyes were on Madara. He felt it in the air rather than saw the inner-struggle of the man and he would be lying if he said it didn't amuse him.

"Go home," Sasuke's sharp voice cut in. Before Madara could speak up, another childish voice spoke.

"No, I'm going." Naruto and Sasuke glared at each other, silently conversing and daring the other to say anymore that would jeopardize their true identities. Neither of them would let up and they did what was the next best option—turn to Madara to make the decision.

It took all it had in Tobirama to repress the laughter at seeing the Uchiha be put on the spot and see him this troubled. The great leader of the Uchiha clan, Uchiha Madara was troubled by two brats. How comical was that? Served him right.

"It's up to Sasuke," Madara said. Honestly, he wanted to tell the boy no, he should go back to his own home where Hashirama was. Sasuke's scowl was doing a good job at convincing him that. He looked into Naruto's eyes and wavered.

Naruto cheered in victory inside his mind and pulled Sasuke away from the adults by his forearm. "Wait there, I'll persuade him."

They hid behind a barbeque restaurant and it reeked of garbage. Naruto removed his hand, knowing Sasuke was going to forcefully tear his arm away if he didn't.

"Go home," Sasuke said again. He was irritated that he had to say it a second time. Did the idiot think through what it meant to be near Madara? Or maybe he understood and didn't care. Knowing Naruto, it was the latter.

"Madara sent us here so he has to have something to send us back," Naruto started in a whisper. "It'll be easier if both of us search his house."

"I've already searched the house. There's nothing there and I couldn't get in his room."

"That's why I'm saying it'll be easier with two people."

"Leave that to me," Sasuke said, his index finger poking Naruto in the chest. "You try to find more information on your side with the Hokage and his younger brother."

Slapping away the finger on him, Naruto hissed, "We can split the task like that later."

"If you agree with that then why do you want to go to Madara's?" Sasuke asked, frowning. There was a pause. Naruto tousled his hair and casted his gaze downwards, only for it to come back up to stare at Sasuke intently.

"It makes me uneasy, Sasuke," he started and quickly added, "I'm calm now, don't worry," when Sasuke looked like he was going to interrupt.

"Madara's dangerous, that hasn't changed, and you don't know when he'll…lash out on you," Naruto reasoned. He took in a shaky breath, awaiting his friend's response. He hoped the other understood that although Madara was laying low now, it didn't mean he wasn't already suspicious of them. The notion of Sasuke _living_ with such an unpredictable man was terrifying. Was it the slight chance that Sasuke would be swayed into hating Konoha again or his safety, Naruto didn't know which scared him.

"No…" Sasuke smirked. "He won't and you saw what happened earlier."

Yes, he did. Madara had protected them.

"How can you be so sure?" Naruto questioned carefully. He didn't like that smirk on Sasuke. It wasn't that arrogant and triumphant smirk, it wasn't like that at all. The scene of Madara whispering something into Sasuke's ear sparked in his mind and vanished.

"I resemble his little brother," Sasuke stated.

"You think just because you look like Madara's brother that he's going to spare you? Special maybe, but you can't rely on that," Naruto retorted, almost shouting. Sasuke snorted and clicked his tongue in annoyance. Well, he couldn't blame Naruto for the lack of knowledge. After all, he wasn't the one who had to listen to the full story of the village's founding era.

"He's dead, the little brother," Sasuke said, attentively gauging Naruto's reaction. The lump in Naruto's throat made it difficult to swallow. His mouth opened and closed, hesitant to draw conclusions from what Sasuke was implying with those words.

"Are you going to take advantage of that? Because you look like his dead brother?" Madara was the guy who attempted at world domination, but was something like this okay? He was human. He had…feelings? At least when it came down to an Uchiha's family they had them.

"Weaknesses are meant to be exploited," Sasuke said and there was a glimmer in his eyes, the setting sun reflecting in them. "But, I never said I was going to do anything about it."

A hand firmly pushed Naruto back.

"Were you suggesting we take advantage of the fact by twisting my words?" Sasuke sneered and Naruto glared back.

"No, I didn't say that," he replied. It gave them the upper hand; they could use Sasuke's face to keep Madara under control and off guard. They could use Madara's _dead_ brother against him. No, it didn't and they couldn't. It made sense to do so, but it made Naruto anxious. He wouldn't stoop that low. There was always another way.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm going," Naruto said, his face leaving no further objections to whomever received the look. His tone was hard and he was most definitely not going to take no for an answer.

A sigh of resignation left Sasuke and he looked at Naruto. If Naruto's choice was to take the problem head on, he would have no problem with it. He wouldn't be responsible for who knew what would happen when it came down to worst. It'd be an interesting approach—to mess with everyone's heads rather than to stay low—he'd admit that.

"Be careful around Madara. If he ever looks at you with his sharingan, he'll see the Nine Tails in you."

 _Even if something did happen, we'd be okay._

"I know." Sweeping a finger across the bottom of his nose, Naruto let out a huff. When Sasuke blocked the kunais aimed at them and when he pulled Sasuke out of the way, he was confident in his beliefs. Sasuke protected him and he did the same—just like they did when they were fighting Madara. Madara was indeed strong, however, the two of them together were also strong. Naruto didn't feel like they'd lose.

"We'll be fine," he whispered to himself, smiling, and Sasuke's silent gaze lingered on Naruto for a moment longer.

Heads turned at the sight of them, Sasuke trailing behind Naruto with a blank expression and the other grinning.

"So?" Tobirama tapped the notebook in his hand impatiently. He would have liked to actually get work done tonight than waste time with insignificant issues regarding a couple of kids.

Now that Naruto recalled the event, he thought Tobirama was a jerk for testing them like that. What adult in their right mind would use the Flying Raijin Jutsu against the seven years old kids that they currently were?

"What?" Tobirama voiced, noticing the stink eye the boy was giving him. Naruto's stuck his lips out, imitating a duck's and spat nothing as his response. It baffled him.

"He's coming over," Sasuke said, ignoring the other boy's antics. Tobirama grunted and reminded Naruto he would be picking him up in the morning.

"Come." Madara gestured for them to follow and turned. As he began to walk, he felt at a loss. He'd never let anyone into his home ever since the village was formed. Besides Hashirama, there wasn't anyone he could or wanted to invite over and he didn't plan to start—even Hashirama hadn't come too often as Madara always denied him of entry every time. But now, he was getting company; welcomed or not.

Sandals scuffed against the ground as Naruto followed behind Madara at a distance. He was still getting used to the man's presence. Sasuke was the last one to move. His eyes were glued on Tobirama's red ones and they stared, locking each other in place. Without a word, they turned on their heels and headed to their separate destinations.

* * *

Books and scrolls were thrown onto the floor as Naruto searched the shelves of the storage room. He skimmed through the contents looking for traces of a time-travel or space-time jutsu study. Reaching deeper into the corner, the edge of a scroll grazed Naruto's fingertip and he groaned. He was tired of rummaging the shelves and he was hungry, sleepy too.

"Hey, Sasuke. Are you sure there's a clue laying around in the house?" He flopped onto his back, stretching his arms behind his head. Sasuke glanced up from the page he was reading.

"No," he said, flipping the page and carried on reading. "I told you I searched the house already."

"You might've missed something," Naruto mumbled. He poked the wall, bored. It had to be soft because his light taps left impressions on it. "What're you reading? Don't tell me it's Icha Icha Paradise."

"Don't compare me to a pervert." Naruto let out a breathless laugh, slapping the wall.

"If you think Kakashi-sensei's a pervert, then you really don't know what a genuine one the author of the books is. He's gotta be the world's most perverted old man!" Excitedly, his hands made motions in the air to emphasize the man's pervert level. The sparkles in his eyes dulled as his arms came down to rest on his stomach. Sasuke noticed and kept silent.

After minutes of Naruto most likely mulling over something, he decided the constant thumping noise was enough.

"Stop poking the wall," he said. The sound continued regardless of his words and he was about to march up and pull Naruto away from the wall when the sound changed into a crack.

"I think I found something, Sasuke," Naruto said in a muffled voice. Sasuke made way to Naruto's waving hand, setting his book onto the low table. He stopped, the strange sight of Naruto's head stuck in the wall was not what he expected. Sensing his friend's stupefied state, Naruto pointed to the wall before ducking his head out. The muscle under Sasuke's eye twitched.

"What are you doing." Naruto was banging the spot next to him with a fist and raking the wall, leaving a vertical chalky white trail.

"I'm stuck!" he yelled, bringing his legs underneath him in an awkward position to push against the wall. He slumped, exhausted. He could've broken the wall, but it would've been too loud, catching someone's unneeded attention.

"So what'd you find?" he heard Sasuke ask. Naruto lifted his eyes to peer into the hole he poked earlier. He squinted into the darkness. He could see the outline of a table, books and other miscellaneous items thanks to the moonlight.

"It's a room."

"And what's special about the room?" Sasuke questioned patiently. It's a shame neither of them had the Byakugan. Otherwise, they could just scan the entirety of Konoha for suspicious activity, people, objects and spaces.

"I think it might be Madara's room. There's a lot of important looking scrolls sealed up on the table…"

If he recalled correctly, the storage was beside Madara's room—the room Sasuke didn't get a chance to sneak into. But sealed scrolls…To safely and quietly unseal it so the contents remained in perfect condition wasn't a speciality of Naruto's of Sasuke's.

"Tsk, troublesome." Their options were limited. Steal the scroll, hide it, cover the hole in the wall or wait for a better time. They probably shouldn't do anything until they had a method to undo the seals on the scrolls. While he was deep in his own thoughts, he didn't realize Naruto was widening the opening on the other side.

"Can't see…" Naruto hooked a finger in the tiny hole and ripped it slightly. At the same time, him and Sasuke perked, bodies going rigid.

Shit, shit, shit, was the sole thought swirling in Naruto's mind. He felt Sasuke grab his ankles and yank.

"Ow, be a little more careful will you?" he hissed. He didn't care that he sounded panicky, inside, dread was flooding him like a broken dam.

"Don't care." Sasuke clenched his jaw and whether or not he liked it, he was beginning to break into a cold sweat. God damn it, why did Madara always have to choose the worst times possible to check up on them? He blamed Naruto for the insistent banging ruckus that drew the clan head's attention.

"Fuck this," he swore and dropped Naruto's legs. On the other side of the wall, Naruto's heart was beating erratically, shock that Sasuke was swearing overpowered by fear.

"Hurry up, Sasuke. He's down the hall already," he said, feet trying to get leverage from the ground, but ended up as him flailing his legs.

"I know just shut up," Sasuke growled. He kicked the wall hard in a swift motion and Naruto was free.

"What were you thinking? Now he'll be suspicious," Naruto chided, dragging the nearest bookshelf to cover the gaping hole. Not a second later, the door slammed open.

"I'm sure I told you two to be quiet…" Madara started. He took in the mess Sasuke and Naruto were surrounded by. "What's going on here?" he asked.

"Sasuke was looking for a book," Naruto answered, pointing to his friend. It wasn't exactly a lie, he noted.

"And that caused this mess?"

"Yeah."

"Hey," Sasuke bit out, turning his head to Naruto. Madara sighed, crossing his arm across his chest. The kid was a terrible liar. There they were sitting on the floor covered in dust, the shelves rearranged and empty and Naruto was saying they were looking for a mere book?

"Do you think I would believe that?" he asked. Naruto shrugged.

"Well, I'm not lying," he retorted. Madara's gaze shifted to Sasuke and the boy gave no indication of anything.

"Then how do you explain my broken wall?" He gestured to the only bookshelf out of place against the wall with a tilt of his chin. Naruto stomach lurched as he turned. We were careless, Sasuke thought.

The bookshelf was wide, like the ones in the library used to arrange books in two rows. There were spaces in between each plank and the hole was in plain view.

Naruto gave a nervous chuckle.

"He…ran into the wall," Sasuke said.

 _What?_

He looked at Sasuke, an incredulous expression on him. "Sasuke…" he whispered in awe. Naruto certainly wasn't bothered by the fact his friend had just sold him out, he did that first.

Madara blinked, mouth parted in astonishment. This boy was just as awful as Izuna at lying when he was younger. The times his younger brother would pretend he wasn't tailing him, responsible for burning the kitchen and ruining his weapons by attempting to sharpen them for him were equal if not as obvious as Naruto running through a wall.

"Sasuke." The corner of Naruto's lips twitched as he pat Sasuke on the shoulder. "You…I think you need help," he said.

"I wasn't lying," Sasuke spat, slapping the hand away. Play with the kid's logic Naruto, he willed in his mind. "I heard a crash and saw your head stuck in the wall, Naruto."

"Hey…" Naruto glanced at Madara and cleared his throat. Fine, it was better than nothing. "Sorry about your wall…" He offered the other a smile. Madara sighed.

"Go to bed, it's late. I'll be sleeping in the same room." His eyes narrowed. "Don't even think about destroying any more parts of my house," he threatened. Madara rubbed his fingers in his face and temples.

"You owe me an explanation tomorrow morning and a clean up," he stated and walked away.

* * *

Tobirama strolled along the night road on his way home—he lived together with his brother and Mito. He halted in his steps.

"Come out," he said into the chilly winds. A figure appeared from the shadow, the street lamps gradually revealing the person's identity.

"When did you notice?" he asked, scratching his cheek in embarrassment. He was awarded a smack of a notebook. He looked up to see Tobirama smiling in fondness.

"From the start," Tobirama replied and added, "Don't underestimate me, Kagami."

"To be honest, I thought I was doing a good job following you…" Kagami pouted. The twelve year old was confident this time in his abilities, but it seemed it was useless against his teacher.

"So why were you tailing me?"

"Who were those two children? I haven't seen them around before," Kagami said. Direct as usual, Tobirama thought.

"If you can run some errands for me, I'll have an answer." The firm tone made Kagami immediately straighten his back.

"I'll do it," he said and Tobirama smirked.

* * *

He couldn't get a wink of sleep. Naruto rolled onto his back. Who knew Madara didn't have a couch for him to sleep in? Or an extra bedding to boot. He stared at Sasuke's back. It was cramped on the futon because he had to share with Sasuke.

A groan behind him alerted Naruto. He took a peek at the man sleeping upright by the door of Sasuke's room. There was no way he could sleep with Madara in the same room. What ninja was he to turn his back on a skilled and dangerous shinobi?

Before Naruto even noticed, he fell asleep.

 _Naruto…_

What?

 _Are you listening, you little brat?_

He gasped and bolted up. He looked straight ahead, a glint in his eyes. The sheets rustled and Sasuke turned to face him, an unsaid wondering.

"I know what we have to do first, Sasuke."


End file.
